Signing Off
by KimuraSato
Summary: Danny works as hit radio personality Badger, and for quite some time, he has been trying to get superstar Phantom to appear as a guest on his show. When he runs into a strange man, Danny's life takes an unexpected turn as he tries to keep up with college, his job, and his new secret life.
1. Chapter 1

**Signing Off**

**Warnings:** General Warnings. Foul language. Violence. Danny and friends are 21. Fenton and Phantom are two separate individuals in this.

**Disclaimer:** Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.

**Summary:** Danny works as hit radio personality Badger, and for quite some time, he has been trying to get superstar Phantom to appear as a guest on his show. When he runs into a strange man, Danny's life takes an unexpected turn as he tries to keep up with college, his job, and his new secret life.

**Originally Written:** August 2013-?

**Chapter 01**

"Well, listeners of Amity Park, we're nearing the end of the hour, and I have a few reminders so bear with me here. First of all, I'd like to point out, once again, that the fish seen on occasion in the quad's fountain are harmless. Please stop harassing them with ecto based devices. Electrifying the water doesn't just hurt the ghosts. It hurts anyone that accidentally touches the water while the devices remain active. The next person seen disturbing these peaceful ghosts will have a nice, long, and _very_ unpleasant meeting with our beloved dean.

"Also, the janitors wanted me to say that whoever is leaving raven feathers all over campus should cease such activities or they shall take all the feathers that they've collected and deposit them in your dorm room. And don't think the nickname of the Mysterious Poe is fooling anyone. We all know who you are, and you're not getting any cool points for doing this, _Marvin_. But speaking of ravens, last weekend, Dash Baxter led our team into a very satisfying victory against our rivals at Elm University. Go APU Ravens! Wow, we have an unfortunate acronym for our school.

"In honor of our star football player, we want you to send in pictures of our winning touchdown at the last second quarterback. We'll be putting up our favorites over the next week, and the one with the most votes by the end of the month will receive two tickets to the very much anticipated Phantom concert. So get out your cameras and start snapping some pictures! And remember, the e-mail address is the midnight badger at pirate radio dot com. And if that's too hard for you to remember, since it _is_ rather late after all, you can always find the link on our webpage.

"Unfortunately, our honored guest has decided once again to be a no show. I know this is about the tenth time I've promised to have the one and only Phantom on our program for you all to call in with your questions, but I really thought he would come this time. I doubt you're listening to this quiet little midnight to two AM show since it's just a local thing and not worthy of the time of a big superstar, but if you would consider making an appearance, I'm sure your fans would really appreciate it, Phantom. Anyway, this is Badger, signing off. Good night, listeners."

Danny waited until the Off Air light turned on before he released a noisy sigh, removing the headset to place them on the console. "Sam," he growled and snapped his blue eyed gaze toward the door of the studio where he knew the woman would be waiting like she always did after the program ended.

"His manager said Phantom would definitely do the show this time." Sam winced, hugging the clipboard she held close to her chest with one arm as she brushed back a lock of ebony hair behind her ear with the other hand. "I tried getting in contact with him throughout the show, but it just kept going straight to his voice mail. It _is_ two AM, after all. Phantom probably has a lot of other appearances lined up, and he does need his rest."

"I _get that_." Danny sighed as he leaned on the console, pushing up his glasses as he rubbed at his eyes. Exhaustion swept over him in that moment, and he still had some homework that he needed to finish up before an early morning class. "It's just getting really annoying that I keep announcing that he's going to be the guest on the show, and then he flakes out on us."

"It's a good thing no one knows the real identity of the hot radio personality known as Badger," Tucker joked as he joined them in the studio with a chuckle. He had abandoned the red beret that he used to wear some years ago. "I think we'd be surrounded by angry listeners with torches and pitchforks out for your head for the number of times we've promised Phantom would be on the show."

"Don't remind me." Danny groaned, already picturing Dash's furious face inches from his own as the blond jock promised to turn him into a meat patty by pounding him into the ground. He still couldn't believe Dash even listened to the show, and whenever he caught the jock talking to friends about the program, Danny couldn't deny a small swell of pride. Dash, the guy that always treated him like garbage unworthy of even being noticed, liked something about him, though Dash had no idea it was actually Danny Fenton who was the mysterious Badger.

"I'm going to keep trying to contact his manager and try to get him to confirm when Phantom can appear on the show," Sam said, already tapping out a note on her cell phone.

"I'm _not_ announcing him as a guest again until he is actually sitting right there," Danny pointed at the seat across from him in the studio that was reserved for guests, "and ready to answer callers' questions. We can't keep telling the listeners that he'll be here and not following through on that promise. I'm surprised we don't have a ton of hate mail."

"Well, actually-" Tucker started until Sam stomped her heavy boot down on his foot, and he yelped, hopping on one foot as he held the other and grimaced in pain. Danny frowned at the pair that were clearly trying to spare him any hurt feelings by showing him the angry mail from their listeners.

"Don't worry about what any of them have to say." Sam stood behind him and wrapped her arms around Danny's neck in a comforting hug. "We're going to get Phantom on the show. Just leave that detail to me. You know I can be _very_ persuasive."

Danny chuckled. "Oh yeah, definitely." For months, Danny refused to be a part of this whole radio show that Sam decided to put together in their freshmen year at college. But after several, almost frustratingly annoying conversations, she managed to convince him to join as their on air personality while Tucker worked the technical side of things and Sam managed everything and used her contacts to get famous guests for the show.

Her arms squeezed just a touch tighter. "See? You just worry about putting on a good show. I'll deal with pinning down Phantom and getting him to show up." She pulled away, patting him on the shoulder.

"I can't believe he's ditched us ten times now," Tucker said, shaking his head as Danny gathered up his things, packing them away in his bag. On occasion during the program when they had songs playing or went to commercial breaks, Danny had a chance, as small as it was, to work on his homework. He still had about five chapters of the book he needed to finish for his literature class, but he would be able to get that finished before the afternoon when he had Lancer's class.

"Well, when you're a big superstar, you don't have to care about the little guys," Danny grumbled as he slung his bag over one shoulder, the strap wrapping across his chest. "Why would he bother with a show that starts at midnight? He's probably out partying at some club right now." He rolled his blue eyes. "Are you two sticking around?" He lifted a curious eyebrow at his friends.

"Y-Yeah," Sam said, turning violet eyes away from him as she studied her clipboard. "Lots of details with the show to work out, you know. Maybe see if there's someone else we can get on the show in the mean time while Phantom remains unavailable."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, also not looking at Danny as a light flush colored his dark cheeks. "I've got to run some checks on the equipment. Make sure everything's running properly. We wouldn't want to be in the middle of a show and have the whole thing blow out on us."

Danny nodded slowly, but his friends weren't fooling anyone with those weak excuses. He knew once he left, Tucker and Sam would spend the rest of the night together. They thought they were cleverly hiding the relationship, but Danny wasn't as dense as some people thought he was. He caught them shooting glances at each other then looking away with blushes upon their faces more times than he could count. He knew they had feelings for each other before they even started their secret romance, but he left them thinking he was clueless about it.

"Well, I'll see you guys later then." Danny walked toward the door of the studio. "I've got to get some homework finished, and I'd like to be able to get some sleep before my first class." He gave them a wave goodbye as he left through the door. He walked down the hall from the studio then down the several flights of stairs, and headed out of the building where they broadcasted their radio program.

Danny scratched a hand through his hair with a tired sigh. Some nights, it sucked away all his energy to run the show, especially when he thought about the homework he still had left to finish. Luckily, his class schedule allowed for some sleep during the day if he managed things properly. His shoulders slumped as he dug his hands into the pockets of his loose pants and headed in the direction of his apartment. Tucker had an apartment he shared with a few roommates on the other side of the college campus where he would be nearer to all the tech courses that he was taking. Sam got her own apartment, stating that it would be too weird if it was only the two of them living alone in the apartment. Danny agreed it probably would be strange, and the other students would probably start teasing them about being in a relationship. He rolled his eyes with a snort. Anyone who actually looked at the trio of friends would see that the lovebirds weren't him and Sam but Tucker and Sam instead. Unfortunately, not everyone at the college was that smart, or observant, and still believed that there was something going on with him and Sam.

Shaking his head, he tried to rid the thoughts from his mind as he cut across the campus, passing under the trees and their thick canopy of leaves. It made his walk from the radio studio to his apartment shorter, but the trees blocked his view of the twinkling stars overhead. Some nights, he could stand there gazing up at the vastness of the sky for hours, naming the different constellations in his mind as he found them. He always enjoyed stargazing, ever since he was a child and he would sit in his mother's lap as they pointed out the stars to each other. He really loved those nights.

A bark tore his attention away his thoughts of stars and space. Dropping his blue gaze toward the ground, Danny smiled when he saw the green dog bouncing around his feet and barking happily at him. He crouched down and scratched behind the dog's ears, or at least he mimed the gesture. Being a ghost, the dog was intangible, making it hard to physically touch him. Unless of course, the dog wished to be touched.

"You should know better than to come here, Cujo," Danny said, giving the dog a stern look. "What if a mean old dog catching ghost hunter decided to pay us a visit?" Though the college campus was generally a safe place for ghosts, like the fish that appeared in the fountain, ghost hunters were still a concern for all the local ghosts. Amity Park was famous for all the ghosts that lived in the small town, and the residents learned to live in harmony with the ghosts, though there were still quite a few anti-ghost members residing within the town. And the occasional students with a mean streak that liked to harass the ghosts. Danny came to know his fair share of them during his lifetime. But ghost hunters still managed to make an appearance in Amity Park to stir up trouble and disrupt the peace.

Cujo sat down before him and barked, his purple tongue hanging out of his parted mouth. When his tail wagged behind him, it was with such force that his whole body seemed to shake from the movement. It was hard to imagine that anyone would kill such an adorable puppy, but there Cujo was like so many other ghosts in town. They even had the ghost of a lunch lady that still worked in the cafeteria. Any changes to the menu had to go through her, or the whole college would feel her wrath.

Danny chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, okay. I know what you want." He dragged his side bag to the front and dug around inside it. When Danny held up his hand, Cujo stood up and barked, prancing around in a circle in wait of the treat that was in the man's hand. "First, you have to show me a trick." Danny held his hand back, waiting for the dog to perform.

Cujo tilted his head, one black ear dangling at the side of his head while the other ear perked upward in a show of his confusion. Danny didn't cave. They met several years ago when Danny was still in high school, and every time the dog came around, Danny made him do a trick before giving him a treat. Then the cute little puppy that barely even reached to his knees suddenly shot up in height, towering over the man as thick green drool dripped from his mouth. Danny stared up at the ghost, his jaw nearly dropping at the sight of the ferocious looking dog.

"That... sure is some trick," Danny remarked numbly, having never seen Cujo sprout up like that. In a blink of the eye, the dog reverted back to his normal, playful size and barked for his treat. "Here you go." Danny tossed the little blob of ectoplasm shaped into a dog bone biscuit that Cujo easily caught in his mouth, munching happily on it. "You better get back home before anything happens to you. Okay?" He gave the dog another stern look, but Cujo merely licked him on the cheek after eating his treat. With a sigh, Danny stood, wiping cool moisture from his cheek. "See you around later." He waved to Cujo before continuing on his way home as he hummed to himself.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Whoops! I slipped and wrote the second chapter of this yesterday and still working on the next chapter of Phantom Dreams. So I decided to come and post this up here. I also may have created a blog for the Danny Fenton of this story (themidnightbadger on tumblr) if you want to send him any asks. *twiddles thumbs* Also, this idea was inspired one night while I was chatting with icyandthefrostbites on tumblr.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

A heavy beat pounded into his head, and Danny cracked open his eyes to stare at the clock facing him on his nightstand. The red numbers announcing that it was six in the morning burned into his vision before he tore his gaze away and rolled onto his back. He groaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes as the noise that woke him continued drumming repetitively. Throwing off his blankets, Danny climbed out of bed and made his way, carefully so as not to trip over the stuff on his floor, to the door.

"Spike!" Danny shouted over the noise as he crossed over to the door of the other bedroom in the apartment. "Spike!" He pounded a fist on the door, which thankfully led to silence as the other man stopped drumming to answer the door.

"What?" Spike questioned in dull voice with no hint of emotional inflation. He wasn't exactly Danny's ideal choice of roommates, and he still didn't know if Spike was even his real name or some nickname he gained, from what Danny was certain he didn't want to know. His skin was a sickly pale, almost white, and the black lip stick and eyeliner didn't help improve his complexion. Tattoos covered nearly every inch from wrist to shoulder on his arms, and he had piercing in both his ears and his left eyebrow and one in his nose.

"I thought we talked about the whole not playing drums at the crack of dawn thing," Danny said tiredly, wishing for just another half an hour of peace before he actually had to get up and prepare for his first class.

"My apartment, remember?" Spike asked, folding his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. "You don't like it, you can leave." The corner of his mouth twitched, almost stretching into a smirk before he schooled his expression back to a look of boredom. "Oh, right. I was the only one that agreed to be your roommate and you don't have the money to live in your own place." Spike stepped back and closed the door in Danny's face. The drumming started up a moment later.

Danny resisted the urge to kick the door down and snatch the drumsticks right out of the man's hands. His teeth ground painfully as he raised a clenched fist. With a frustrated growl, he pushed away from the door and stomped toward his room. Sometimes, college life felt more like a nightmare. After a month of blissful silence from his roommate, he thought that talk actually stuck, but apparently Spike was just letting him live in delusion before bringing that idea to a beat pounding crash.

Once in his room, Danny hurriedly got dressed, nearly stumbling and toppling over as he yanked on his jeans. He grabbed his maroon hooded sweatshirt with the APU stitched in white across the front and the school's raven mascot on the back. His bright blue eyes rolled as he recalled his on air comment from earlier that morning. Their university really needed a new acronym because anything with a P followed by a U was never a good name. After cramming his books in his bag, Danny slung the strap across his body then grabbed his glasses from the night stand along with his keys.

Even after he left the apartment and closed the door behind him, Danny could still hear the pounding of the drums. _Maybe it's time I get earplugs_, he thought with a tired sigh as he started down the hall. But if he couldn't hear his alarm, he ran the risk of sleeping too late and missing his classes. He would probably have better luck looking for a new apartment.

"Yo, Fenturd!"

His muscles tensed up when he heard that familiar voice, and with a sigh, Danny lifted his head and glanced toward where the jock stood leaning against the wall. He groaned to himself when he saw Dash Baxter posing as Paulina, probably the prettiest woman at the college, snapped pictures of him. He began to rethink that whole contest idea now. Dash already had a big head, thinking himself god's gift to, well, everyone. The contest with people showering him with more attention was bound to make his giant head explode.

"What do you want, Dash?" Danny asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Can't you make that stupid roommate of yours stop with that racket so early in the morning?" Dash demanded as he pushed away from the wall. He stomped over to Danny and tried to use what little of a height advantage he had left to loom over the raven haired man. Back in high school, that probably would have had Danny shaking in his boots, but now he was only slightly shorter than the jock.

"Hey, if you want to yell at him, be my guest." Danny half turned back to his apartment and gestured for Dash to pass him with one arm. "He won't listen to me, but maybe you can use your fists like usual to beat him into doing what you want." He stared dryly at the jock, and he half suspected that his show of not being terrified of him annoyed Dash even more than the drumming coming from his apartment.

"Oh! Don't move! That's a great one!" Paulina appeared beside them, and the flash from her camera nearly blinded Danny.

"Paulina," Dash growled, turning to face her as he placed a hand to Danny's face and shoved him back a few steps. "The Badger said to send in photos of me." He jabbed his chest with a finger. "They don't want some loser dweeb in the picture!"

Danny scowled as he removed his glasses then wiped at them with the hem of his shirt, yanking it out from under his sweatshirt. "They never said anything about the pictures being solo shots." He really hadn't considered that point when he came up with the contest idea, but he couldn't really reject any pictures if they happened to have someone else in them with Dash since he never mentioned that as a rule to the contest. "Maybe you'd get lucky with a couple shot of the two of you. Romance sells, doesn't it?"

"Oh! That's a great idea!" Paulina shoved the camera into his hands a second after Danny replaced his glasses. "Make it look good," she ordered as she and Dash posed like a happy couple, though Danny knew for a fact that they weren't involved. "I'm going to win this contest and get those tickets to see Phantom."

"I don't know if we should trust him," Dash said, pursing his mouth as Danny adjusted the camera to take a picture. "He might run off and use it himself to win the contest."

"Please!" Danny snorted with a roll of his eyes. "I don't even care about going to see Phantom." He waited until the two actually had a decent pose before he snapped a photo of them, though he wasn't sure why he was even bothering to help them. Paulina tended to be a good source of gossip, so Danny always liked to stay on her good side, when possible.

Dash broke out laughing after the picture was taken. "You don't care about Phantom? You ? Seriously?"

Danny's face burned red as he shoved the camera back at Paulina. "Whatever, Dash. I still have homework I need to finish." He pushed past the two of them as he continued down the hall toward the stairs. He nearly rammed into Kwan as the other jock came out of his apartment, but he managed to halt and sidestep around him before they could collide.

"What was that about?"

Danny heard Kwan asking his friends before he turned down the stairwell and raced down them to the ground floor as fast as he could. When he left the building, he breathed in deeply then exhaled slowly, happy to be away from the irritating racket of his roommate and the potential pounding from the jocks. Folding his arms, he walked through the university campus, pondering if he had time to catch Sam and Tucker to hang out for a little while. He frowned and shook his head. They had a later class and usually slept in for another hour or so. He didn't want to wake them, knowing they probably had a late night. A grin tugged at his mouth, and he rolled his eyes, wondering when they would simply come out and announce that they were a couple so that he could stop pretending to be oblivious.

His stomach rumbled with a gnawing sensation at his side. He definitely needed to grab some food before class started. Making a turn, he headed for the cafeteria to buy something to eat. He passed by the fountain in the quad on his way, and it didn't surprise him to see the dean of their university, Mrs. Ishiyama, carting off one of the known harassers of the ghost fish by the ear. Danny had seen Alan Shaw with one of those devices that electrifies the water and disrupts the ghosts' ability to maintain its form.

Mrs. Ishiyama took up the position of dean at Amity Park University seven years ago, well before Danny started attending. The previous dean cared little for the ghosts residing in their town, and he even encouraged cruelty toward any ghosts that appeared on campus. Danny was glad he didn't attending APU while that man was dean. When she became dean, Mrs. Ishiyama added strict rules against harassment toward ghosts. But as with any form of bullying, rules didn't always prevent it from happening.

Danny reached into his bag, searching around until he found one of ectoplasm treats that he usually carried around for whenever Cujo decided to pop up. He crumbled it up in his hands as he approached the fountain after Mrs. Ishiyama and Alan were well out of sight. Only a few other students were milling about the quad at the early hour, and they mostly ignored him. Sometimes, Danny almost felt like he belonged more among the ghosts than with humans when so many of his classmates treated him like he was invisible. If only Dash could do the same as them, Danny might not mind being invisible so much.

"Eat up," Danny said as he sprinkled the crumbs of ectoplasm into the fountain's water. He stood there watching the fish eagerly sucking up the bits of ectoplasm into their mouths for a while. There were only three of them today, but it wasn't unusual for the amount of them to vary.

With a small wave, Danny left the fish and continued on his way toward the cafeteria, which was a bit busier than the quad. Students who didn't care to waste a lot of money eating out at the restaurants and fast food joints around the university often hit the cafeteria for a cheap meal. Danny kept some food back at the apartment, lots of ramen, but with Spike playing his drums, he didn't care to stick around there to have his breakfast. He glanced over the menu with a frown and checked his wallet to see how much cash he had to spare.

After deciding on a simple blueberry muffin and bottle of water, Danny headed to a little nook in the back where he could comfortably work without worry of anyone spying over his shoulder. He knew no one would care to look at what he was working on, but he would rather not take the chance that someone might discover his identity as Badger. Once he was settled, he pulled out his laptop from his bag and set it on the table. He took a bite from his muffin as the laptop booted up then checked his e-mail to see if anything came in already about the contest.

Danny snorted a laugh when he opened the first e-mail with a few pictures attached. Seeing a bunch of images of Dash wasn't exactly the way he wanted to spend his morning, but he didn't actually expect to have so many responses already to the contest. He had at least fifteen people that sent in an average of four pictures. They were obviously from Dash's jock friends, or at least people present at wherever Dash decided to party last night. Danny actually liked the one of Dash and Kwan hanging out together, smiling like great friends as they toasted a drink. He added the ones he thought were the best from each person onto their website, though voting wouldn't commence until the submission period was over, to be fair to the last minute entries. It was, he realized, a strange little peek into the life of Dash Baxter. Not all the pictures were staged like the one he took of Dash and Paulina, and those ones where he wasn't posing in any way were the ones that Danny actually liked the best.

Shaking his head as he finished updating the website, Danny popped the last bite of the muffin into his mouth. Once the laptop was shut down, he returned it to his bag then grabbed his water bottle. He tossed the muffin wrapper into the garbage as he passed it on his way out of the cafeteria. He checked his watch then headed off to his first class of the day.

* * *

**sonysakura**: I love Cujo~ I wish he showed up more on the show. D: Thanks~ I'm glad you found it intriguing! 8D

**Some Weird Chick**: No plans to make this one pitch pearl. Though I do have one for that in the works! I just need to hammer out a few more details about it before I really begin it beyond just the drabbles I've done. As for Danny being a relationship, I haven't decided yet. I thought I'd wait and see where the story leads. XD;;;

**CuriosityAbounds**: Thanks! I'm glad it's caught your interest~ =)

**MsFrizzle**: There was that time in Pirate Radio where he tried to get the gig as the radio DJ for the school. XD;; That didn't turn out so well though. Thanks! =)

**krikanalo**: I've heard people mention the name nightvale before, but I really don't know anything about it. But I'm glad it looks interesting!

**jelloshots99**: I did a thing? 8D I can definitely see Cujo popping in again. XD;; He's too adorable not to bring in every now and again. Phantom is a ghost, yes. I haven't decided on whether there will be slash or not. I haven't really gotten to the idea of romance being involved for Danny yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall just above the door, and his brow lifted in surprise to that the class was almost over. Danny pinched his nose, hardly believing how fast the class went by, but it always seemed like his literature class passed in a flash while some of his other classes dragged on forever. His science class wasn't too bad, though he wasn't allowed to participate in any of the experiments after breaking one too many beakers. The study of ghosts and their physiology of their makeup was a pretty interesting course too. Growing up in Amity Park surrounded by ghosts, he always had a bit of an interest in them, and their university had the best program to learn more about them. The assistant teacher happened to be a ghost, appointed by Mrs. Ishiyama, but he sometimes went off on a tangent talking about technology. Danny's mouth pulled into a smile as he thought about how Technus and Tucker probably would get along well because of their love for technology.

"Remember to finish chapters fifteen to twenty for our next class," Lancer announced as the class came to an end. Virtually everyone in the class sighed out in relief to be able to get out of the class, but Danny groaned internally, sometimes wishing the class was longer because he enjoyed discussing books. "Be sure to leave your answer sheets on my desk before you leave." He picked up the eraser and started clearing the board of his notes.

Danny closed his notebook then shoved his things into his bag. Standing up, he slung the bag across his chest. Then he followed the other students to the front the class with his assignment in his hand. When he reached the desk, he laid the paper on top of the stack like all the other students.

"Ah, Mr. Fenton," Lancer said before Danny could walk away. "I'd like a word with you before you go."

Danny swallowed, hearing a few giggles from two women that passed him by on the way out the door. With a nod, he stepped out of the way of the other students leaving the classroom. When they were the last two in the room, Lancer walked over to the door and closed it.

"Uh, did I do something wrong, Sir?" Danny questioned with a nervous shift as he folded his arms. He had a pretty good relationship with Lancer, he thought, and they got along well when it came to discussing books.

"You're not in trouble," Lancer said as he took a seat at his desk. His fingers laced together over the desk as he stared at Danny with his green eyes piercing into his student in that way that made Danny shuddered. While Danny might get along with the man, Lancer was still a teacher, and he had that way of striking fear into his students with a simple look.

"Then why do you need to speak with me?" Danny frowned, his brow creasing as he tried to puzzle out the reason for his teacher to hold him after class. "Did I mess up something with my last essay?"

"No, no." Lancer shook his head. "Your essay was perfectly written." A rare smile appeared on the man's face. He didn't often give those kinds of smiles to his students. "A joy to read, especially compared to some of your classmate's essays."

"I'm glad it was up to your standards." Danny breathed a sigh of relief at his teacher's answer. "But then, why do you need to talk to me?"

"I happened to catch a certain program last night while I was up late grading papers," Lancer explained, and Danny swallowed nervously as he shifted his weight again. Lancer's brow met in the center, and he frowned severely at his student.

"O-Oh?" Danny lifted his eyebrows, trying to appear curious. There was no way Lancer could have figured at that he was really Badger.

Lancer tilted his head down a touch, and Danny's breath caught in wait to see what his teacher would say next. "Daniel, I'm very much aware that you and your friends run that program. Don't," he added sternly, pointing a finger at Danny before his student couldn't even attempt to protest, "lie to me."

Danny's muscles tensed up, knowing that Lancer would be able to spot a lie. Sometimes, he felt like the man was a human lie detector. "Is there a problem with the show?" He looked away, unable to meet his teacher's gaze.

"I'm not going to reprimand you for participating in an underground radio program. I happened to do a bit of radio hosting back in my college days." Lancer grinned with a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

"I thought you were a cheerleader in college," Danny said with a confused furrowing of his brow. "Uh, right. That's not relevant here." He rubbed at the back of his neck when Lancer landed a glare on him.

"Doing one does not mean I was unable to do the other," Lancer pointed out. He sighed and wiped a hand over his bald head. Danny wasn't sure if he was bald because he lost all his hair or if he decided to shave his head bald at some point. "Firstly, I would like to ask if the radio program is interfering with your sleep and your school work."

Danny shook his head. "No, I have plenty of time to get to all my classes, finish my work, and catch enough sleep while still having some down time to just hang out with my friends." Sometimes it still astounded him that there were teachers that actually cared about their students. Danny remembered stepping into one of his math classes to see only one other student, Mikey if he remembered the name correctly, sitting in the front row with a tape recorder on his desk. It was only the two of them for the entire period, and the teacher never bothered with taking attendance or even stopping in his lecture to care that Danny had showed up five minutes late that day. Danny was fairly certain that Mikey sold his notes to the other students in the class, and he probably made a killing on it.

"Good, good." Lancer nodded. "I would be very displeased if you were allowing your grades to slip or disregarding your health for this radio program. I do think the three of you were very wise to put this show together. You provide local news to everyone at the college, as well as anyone else in town who cares to tune in at midnight. And I suspect plenty of students are awake at that hour, whether that's to study or to party. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Danny shook his head, still not sure where Lancer was trying to take this conversation. It seemed that Lancer approved their show, which made Danny happy as it meant that he wasn't likely to inform the dean or anyone else and get them shut down. But he couldn't think of what the man was trying to get out. "What _did_ you need to talk to me about?"

"In regards to this little contest you've decided to host." Lancer landed another stern stare upon his student.

"If it's about the prize, there's no need to worry." Danny crossed his arms over his chest then uncrossed them in one sift movement. "Sam knows some people, and she's secured two tickets to the upcoming Phantom concert. And they are really good seats too. Whoever wins them will be really happy with those tickets."

"Oh, no." Lancer raised a hand as he shook his head. "I have no qualms with the prize. I have no doubts that you will come through with whatever prize you announce for a contest. You are quite the reliable young man. No, it's the nature of the contest that drew my concern. It may seem like a harmless idea, but surely you can also see how it can be used to defame Mr. Baxter and cause him great humiliation depending on the nature of the pictures."

"Oh. Oh!" Danny's eyes grew wide as he understood Lancer's meaning. "I have no intention of putting up any pictures that could harm Dash in any way." As tempting as that might be to him considering how awful Dash could treat him. "I haven't seen any that would damage his image. And if any turned up, I certainly won't be putting them up on the website. Dash and I may not be best friends, but if he saw something he didn't like, that could be trouble for whomever took the pictures. And well, me if he ever found that I'm Badger."

Lancer nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. I would be rather disappointed if you used this opportunity to humiliate Mr. Baxter on such a grand scale. A lot of people, not only from the college but from the town, look at that site." He stared at his student with a frown on his tired, aged face. "And don't think I'm unaware of his treatment toward you and some other students. Unfortunately, as I have not caught him in the act or been inform of what is happening _as_ it is happening, the only form of punishment I can give him is to push him a little harder in his school work than most of my other students."

Danny could understand the man's position. This was college, and Lancer couldn't simply bestow harsh punishment upon Dash without any hard evidence that he was the one harming other students or breaking the school rules in any way. It was their word against his, and Dash usually had some way of talking himself out of trouble. "Was that all, Sir?" Danny questioned, his blue eyes sliding toward the door.

"Right." Lancer got to his feet as he gathered the papers from the corner of his desk. "You probably have more important things to do then spend your free time with your teacher." He smirked a little. "Your friends are probably waiting for you to discuss details about your show tonight."

Danny started toward the door then stopped and turned back to his teacher. "Sir, how exactly did you know that we were the ones running the radio show?" He frowned, worrying that if Lancer figured it out, then others might too.

"I happen to be very in tune with the ongoings of our fine institute." They stared at each other for a moment before Lancer cracked a smirk. "And I happen to know someone that works in the building where you've based your studio."

"You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"

"I haven't yet, have I?" Lancer wore a smirk as he snapped the locks closed on his briefcase.

"Thanks, Sir. I appreciate you keeping our secret." After a quick goodbye, Danny left the classroom. He didn't have any more class that day, so he was free to hang out with Sam and Tucker before their next classes. Exiting the building, he headed across campus to find his friends.

"Hey, Danny!"

He paused, blinking in surprise over whom was calling out to him. When he turned around, he saw Paulina jogging up to him. "Uh, hi," he responded with his brow creased and his mouth pressed into a thin line. The woman didn't usually come up to him in the middle of a crowded area of the university.

"Have you ever considered taking up photography?" Paulina asked as she latched onto his arm, pulling him along with her as she kept walking. "That shot you took of me and Dash earlier was amazing! I was thinking," she smiled at him in that way she usually used to charm men into doing stuff for her, "maybe you could help out and take a few more pictures for us for the contest. With your awesome photography skills, we'd probably be a shoe in for winning that contest."

"I don't know," Danny said awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head as he frowned. He didn't think it would be fair exactly if he helped Dash and Paulina out with taking pictures for the contest that _he_ was hosting. At the same time, however, he wasn't the one that would be choosing the winner. That was entirely up to the people that voted on the pictures.

"Please!" Paulina begged as she batted her eyes prettily at him.

Danny sighed. The time she actually paid attention to him was only to help her chances to see Phantom live in concert. "I guess maybe I could do a small photo shoot with you. Um," he paused to ponder over his schedule, "tomorrow's Saturday, so I should be free enough to meet up then."

"Thanks!" Paulina hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek before she stepped back. "Maybe I'll help you out with that little roommate problem you're having." She gave him a wave before she headed off, disappearing into the crowd.

Danny raked a hand through his raven hair then shook his head. Agreeing to that probably wasn't his best decision, but it was too late to back out now that he said he would. On the upside, he might not have to worry about waking up early in the morning because of Spike practicing his drums if everything worked out for him. He smiled at that thought as he walked toward the spot where he usually met Sam and Tucker.

* * *

**MsFrizzle**: I sat there and thought for a really long time about who to use as Danny's roommate. XD;; Spike came to mind, and I was just like, "yes, perfect."

**sohrem666**: I was always off in my own little world during class. XD;; Oops~ Probably should have paid more attention.

**JeremyPunk**: Thanks! =) He was only mentioned in the very first episode, yet I remember him well. XD;;

**LandofMidnightRain**: Thanks! =D Hope you enjoyed this next chapter~

**Guest**: I did! And yeah. No relationship planned yet. XD Why thank you! Haha, yeah, I try to update everyday, though sometimes I hit snags in stories (or a wave of laziness crushes me). I should probably update Ghost Stories. *strokes chin thoughtfully* But between chapter writings and AllShipsMonth themes, I haven't thought about any random little drabbles to add to that yet. I have a list right now of story ideas left to do. XD;; That gets added onto when a new idea hits me. I did have writer's block for a few years. Namely the time I was away from the fandom. *holds Danny close* He's like my muse. He inspires me to write. Ah~ Thanks so much! I just turned 30 this month. Oh man, I feel so old. orz *sobs* Ah, yes, Snow Colored Lens. I shall be getting to that. *finger taps* Maybe once I finish the next chapter of Phantom Dreams, I'll get started on that one. Oh that's okay! =D I know not everyone is going to leave a review. =) Don't feel pressured into having to leave one~

**maltese**: Danny's never getting away from the Badger nickname. XD;; Omg, he does! XD Poor Danny. Always with a secret identity!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

Danny yawned tiredly as he followed the pair across campus. He remained a couple of feet behind them, though that hardly seemed to make a difference while everyone that they passed stopped to stare at them. Everyone at the university knew how much Dash liked to pick on him, and Danny could only imagine they were wondering what horrors Dash had planned for the loser in tow behind him. He hunched his shoulders, burying his face as best as he could in his maroon hooded sweat shirt while shoving his hands into his pockets. The whole photo shoot thing was seeming more and more like a bad idea with each passing second as they neared the big gate at the entrance to the university.

"Where exactly are we going?" Danny asked when he could stand the silence no longer. He was woken up yet again by the infernal drumming of his neighbor and forced to escape to the cafeteria for a quiet breakfast where he did his usual routine of checking his secret e-mail to see what new submissions to the contest came in. So far, Lancer's worry about someone abusing the contest idea to humiliate Dash hadn't bore any fruit as most of the pictures were fairly tame and harmless. He received one of Dash while the jock was sleeping in class, but he decided to nix that one simply because he doubted Dash would appreciate the other students laughing at him for the puddle of drool that covered his notebook while he slept.

"Downtown, of course!" Paulina answered brightly as she turned to walk backwards so that she could face him while talking to him. Danny wondered how the woman had so much energy and if it was possible to siphon off some of it and store it in a bottle. He could probably make a killing if he sold bottle energy that made people feel as happy and bouncy as Paulina could be in the morning. "What better place to take some shots than at some of the local sights? It's going to be great!"

Danny rolled his blue eyes once the woman turned back around, and a sigh escaped his parted lips.

"Man, this Badger guy is great," Dash said, pulling the earplugs out as they passed through the front gate and headed toward the downtown area of Amity Park. "He knows, like, everything! Listen." He rewound for a few seconds on the music player in his hand then hit the play button after yanking out the earplugs so they could all hear the recording.

"... to Alan Shaw for being the first student to have the pleasure of speaking with our beloved dean after I warned you all not to mess with the fish in the quad's fountain. Applause to you, Sir." A sound bite of people applauding played for a few seconds. Danny heard the voice manipulation when they first started the show and Tucker wanted to prove to him that no one would be able to tell he was Badger because their voices would sound nothing alike. He hadn't heard himself on the radio since then, and it was strange now to hear Dash playing the broadcast from last night's show.

"What a dumbass," Dash said, snickering at Alan's misfortune.

"I also have the pleasure of announcing the appearance of a new ghost on campus," Badger continued. "She was scene loitering around the student counseling offices, so if you need to make a trip there, I suggest caution when speaking to her. Several students have shown signs of increased depression after an encounter with her, so if you're feeling down on yourself, I advise avoiding her at all costs. And to all of you, remember, you are all awesome people with amazing personalities and talents."

"Okay, here. He's going to talk about me again." Dash grinned proudly.

Paulina rolled her emerald eyes. "He gets all excited anytime Badger mentions him on air. I swear he's a total fan boy."

"Paulina!" Dash growled, his cheeks darkening a few shades with a blush that made Danny raise his eyebrows at the blond jock.

"We've had some amazing pictures sent in so far of our star quarterback," Badger said. "But I bet you all can take even better pictures of Dash Baxter. The submission period will end midnight this Sunday, and you'll be able to start voting on your favorite pictures Monday morning. There's still plenty of time, so get out there and find Dash and take as many awesome pictures of him as you can. This is Badger, signing off. Good night, listeners of Amity Park." The music player fell silent as the recording of last night's show came to an end.

"I wonder if anyone's figured out who Badger really is," Dash said with an awestruck look in his eyes that made Danny feel slightly uncomfortable around him. "How does he get around all over the place to know everything that goes on?"

"Maybe he's a ghost," Danny suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "He could float around unseen, watching what everyone's up to, and most people wouldn't even know he's there."

"A ghost?" Dash snorted. "Yeah right, Fentweeb. If he was a ghost, why would he even bother with hosting a radio show?"

"Ghosts have obsessions, right? Maybe his obsession was becoming a successful radio host, and now he's getting to live that dream in his afterlife." Danny was pulling at random ideas to cover the truth that he was Badger, but the fact that it sounded plausible based on their knowledge of ghosts added that convincing level he needed.

"Hm, I suppose that could be possible," Paulina said with a painted pink nailed finger pressed to her chin in thought. "It _would_ explain how he knows so much about everything that happens around the university."

"So he becomes this famous radio host, but he refuses to show himself?" Dash's mouth pursed in that way Danny often saw it do when he was thinking hard about something. Danny was surprised his face didn't turn red as smoke issued from his ears.

"Maybe he was horribly disfigured and he's too embarrassed to show himself." Danny shrugged as they entered what was considered downtown Amity Park. It was a quick walk from the university, thankfully. "Or maybe he just likes moving about invisibly. If everyone knew who he was, maybe they would act differently when they saw him around and he wouldn't be able to properly look around the campus for interesting news to report on his show."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this," Dash said, narrowing his dark blue eyes in suspicion at Danny. "You come up with those answers pretty fast."

"I'm studying the paranormal," Danny said with a roll of his eyes. "Part of that study is trying to think in the mind set of a ghost and understand their reasoning and motivation for doing the things they do. Take that ghost Badger mentioned, that one in the counseling office. Just from that little sampling, I would guess that the ghost feeds upon the negative feelings of the people she talks to, in the process making them feel even more depressed than previously. There could be a number of reasons _why_ she does this, though power gain seems to be the most popular reason. If that's the case, Principal Ishiyama will likely want to have her removed from the university for the safety of her students."

"I don't know whether to be impressed," Dash said, frowning, "or find you more weird for knowing stuff like that."

"Hey, I'm just glad my parents aren't here to teach some of the classes." Danny groaned at the thought. "_You_," he narrowed his eyes at Dash already put enough of a target on my back without my parents here to embarrass me all the more."

"Enough about that." Paulina shoved a camera into Danny's hands. "Time to take some pictures. Now," she frowned thoughtfully, "how should we pose this time?"

"No, no, no." Danny shook his head, waving a hand before him. "No posing. The best pictures will be the ones with Dash acting natural, like he isn't even aware of a camera being on him."

"You think?" Paulina blinked at him curiously.

Danny nodded. "My vote is going to be for the picture that I think best shows the Dash that people don't often get to see. Posing just gives off this aura of fakeness." He turned his gaze onto Dash. "You don't want to appear fake, right?"

"So what are we supposed to do, Mr. Genius?" Dash demanded, folding his beefy arms as he frowned.

Danny sighed inwardly, wondering why he had to be the one to think of everything. Honestly, he didn't know why he got dragged into this in the first place. He took some photography classes in high school, but he mostly only photographed the night sky when he had the chance. Taking pictures of people was another matter entirely, and he knew his pictures weren't as good as Paulina made them out to be when she came up to him yesterday. A lot of times, his pictures of people ended up blurry and out of focus.

"Just walk around," Danny suggested with a shrug. "Pretend I'm not even here, that should be pretty easy. Just, you know, find something interesting, like-" He glanced around the downtown area for something that might inspire a good picture of Dash. "Like that!" He pointed toward a street performer sitting on the rim surrounding a bed of flowers in front of one shop. "You and Paulina should dance. Show the students of APU your moves." He held his arms up like he had an invisible dancing partner then swayed his hips.

"I don't dance," Dash said gruffly as he turned his head away with his mouth pressed thin.

"Oh, come on, Dash!" Paulina grabbed Dash by the arm and dragged him toward where the street performer was strumming along on a guitar that looked far more taken care of than the man himself. "It'll be fun!" She tried to encourage Dash to dance with her, but the jock wouldn't budge from his stance with his arms folded and looking away like he was trying to pretend he didn't know Paulina.

"Gee, Dash, loosen up a bit!" Danny shoved the camera into Dash's hand. "It's easy." Paulina seemed hesitant when he stepped up to her with his hands held out. He rolled his eyes. "Will you just-" He waved his hands before him.

Paulina sighed, frowning with unhappiness as she allowed him to place his left hand on her hip and take hold of her hand with his right. He maneuvered her around a few steps, then spun her around, and drew her back against his chest. Paulina seemed to get into the dance as they swayed together. Then Danny pulled her into a dip, grinning, before drawing her back into an upright position.

"See? It's easy," Danny said as he plucked the camera from Dash's hands.

"When did you learn to dance?" Paulina asked in surprise.

"Sam's mom made her take all these classes on becoming a proper lady." Danny rolled his eyes. "One class involved dancing, and since she would terrorize any of the guys in the class that touched her, I got dragged along to be her dance partner." He turned his gaze to Dash. "But if this idea doesn't interest you, we can keep looking."

"No dancing," Dash said firmly as he walked down the street, passing by the street performer.

"Well, I thought it would be fun," Paulina admitted with a frown before she followed after Dash.

Danny sighed as he dug into his pocket and found some loose change in his wallet. After dropping the coins into the open guitar case, he hurried to follow after the other two. He shadowed Dash and Paulina for what felt like hours as the pair found some fun things to do around downtown. Danny caught a few good shots, like when they stopped at an arcade and Dash challenged Paulina to a car racing game. Paulina did a not so graceful dance of victory when she beat Dash at the game, though the jock wasn't very happy to have lost. He captured a cute one when they stopped by a local ice cream shop called I Scream. Paulina and Dash shared a sundae together, and it turned into a sloppy mess when Paulina smeared some ice cream onto Dash's nose and he retaliated. It dissolved into a tickle fight that nearly got all three of them kicked out of the shop.

"I think that's enough," Danny said, checking the camera to see the roll was almost finished. "You have to get back to campus and let _other_ people take some pictures of you, or this whole contest won't be fair." He handed the camera back to Paulina.

"Thanks for taking the pictures." Paulina smiled with a smear of ice cream still on the side of her face, but she seemed to happy to even notice it.

Dash hunched up his shoulders as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I suppose this wasn't entirely a bad day," he said, refusing to look at Danny.

He rolled his eyes, but Danny wasn't surprised the jock had difficulty even saying something like that to him. "I'll see you later." He waved to them as Dash and Paulina headed back toward campus.

After checking his watch, he decided he had plenty of time to hang out around downtown for a while longer on his own before he had to get back to campus to meet up with Sam and Tucker to discuss that night's show. He rummaged around in his bag to find his music player then shoved the earplugs comfortably into his ears. Music blocked out the usual noise of the downtown area as he walked around, observing the people he past and catching sight of a few familiar and unfamiliar ghosts that hung about the area. He hummed along to the music as he walked, taking mental notes of anything that seemed interesting to report back to Sam and Tucker for the show.

A body suddenly stood before him, blocking his path along the street. Danny lifted his gaze to the man standing in front of him, who dressed in a neat black suit. He started to step around the man when he suddenly grabbed Danny by the chin. Dark blue eyes narrowed in a critical fashion as they seemingly scanned over every inch of Danny's face.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ugh! Sorry for the delay! I wasn't able to sign onto the site until just now.

**sohrem666**: Gotta have Lancer. 8D He's just awesome~ I always hated that school had group projects. -.- I'd rather work on my own. I also hated that they made class participation like a huge part of your grade. I'm sorry I'm the type of person who has a hard time speaking to people and therefore find it extremely difficult to actually participate in class.

**NikaStarlight**: I love Lancer and Danny bonding moments~ I wish we had gotten more of them in the series.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05**

"Yes, I shall be returning to the office at once."

Danny frowned, as best he could with the hand practically squishing his face, at the man, who spoke on a cell phone after his careful examination of Danny's face. He yanked out the earplugs and stuffed his music player back into his bag. "You're hurting me," Danny pointed out bluntly with annoyance seeping into his blue eyes. He debated if now would be a good time to start screaming and perhaps driving the man away before the man could do whatever it was he had in mind. But Danny thought he should probably give the man the benefit of the doubt on that point. From his fancy suit and the commanding way he spoke, Danny assumed the man was wealthy and worked as some sort of business man. That, however, didn't mean the man wasn't some sort of creep though.

The man turned his dark blue eyes back onto Danny as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Right." When the man released his hold on his face, Danny reached up to rub at his sore jaw. "Now then." The man dropped his hands onto Danny's shoulders, directing the university student toward a car parked on the street.

Danny slammed his hands on the car door, stopping the man from pushing him any farther and from opening the door. "You are aware that kidnapping is a crime, correct?" He turned his head to narrow his eyes over his shoulder at the man. "All I would have to do is shout, and people be on you like a flock of birds come to tear apart a scrap of food."

The man's eyebrow rose in surprise at that comment before a smirk slipped onto his face, and Danny was certain he didn't like the implications of it. The smirk gave the man a sort of sinister air about him. "I only wish to have a small discussion with you. However, it's a rather, ah, sensitive nature that I can't discuss out in the public."

"Perhaps you're not meaning to, but you make that sound like you have some sort seedy plans." Danny frowned severely at the man. "I'm not one to judge, but I'm not interested."

"Is your mind always in the gutter, boy?" The man returned the frown with a wrinkling of his nose.

"When a strange man comes up to me, grabs my chin, then tries to shove me in a car, it does," Danny countered. "I prefer that you take your hands off me." The man pulled his hands away from Danny and straightened his suit. Folding his arms, Danny turned around to face the man. "Now perhaps you'd like to tell me your name and why you wanted to cram me into your car." It was a fairly nice car too, black and looking rather expensive.

"Vlad Masters." The man reached into the breast pocket of his suit and retrieved a business card to show Danny.

"No way!" Danny grabbed at the card, examining it as if he could hardly believe it was real. "You own Spook Records!" He had, of course, heard the man's name plenty of times, but he had never seen what the man looked like. His wonder over meeting the Vlad Masters faded as he frowned and pointed the card at Mr. Masters. "My friend has been trying to get a hold of you. Do you know how annoying it is to promote that we're going to have Phantom as a guest on a show and then he doesn't show up?"

Mr. Masters' brow drew to the center, the gears turning in his head as he digested the question. "Ah, that little radio show." He nodded in understanding. "I'd be happy to discuss more about that in a more private setting. Unless you want passing ears to overhear." His gaze drifted around to the people around them, some of them actually taking notice of their actions while others were too self absorbed to notice those around them.

Danny's mouth pursed, knowing the man had a point. He preferred not talking too much about the radio show where too many ears could hear him. That was why he met Sam and Tucker in a secluded part of the campus where no one else even bothered to venture so that they could discuss things quietly for the show.

"All right," Danny said with some hesitation, still wary of the man's motives. What would such a big music mogul type what with him? He pulled open the door and climbed into the car, though the idea of being trapped in such a confined place with a man he didn't quite trust didn't sit well with him.

Mr. Masters walked around and climbed into the driver's seat. After he started the car, he drove off down the street, heading to parts of the downtown area with which Danny wasn't familiar. The radio remained off, leaving them in awkward silence as Danny glanced out the window, tapping his fingers on his knees.

"I didn't realize your studio was here," Danny said, his gaze sliding toward the man beside him. Everything about this meeting felt awkward to him, and he would be more than happy when he was able to get away from the man.

"It seemed like the most appropriate place for it." Mr. Masters smirked again, and Danny liked it even less seeing that smirk on his face for a second time.

"Amity Park isn't really that big of a city." Danny leaned back in the seat, trying to get comfortable, but that was difficult with the strangeness of the whole situation. Amity Park didn't really seem like the best place to set up a music studio, especially a well known one. He thought for sure that Spook Records was located out in California, or even New York. He couldn't remember hearing anything about it being in Amity Park.

"The size of the city really doesn't make a difference." Mr. Masters pulled the car into a parking garage and drove up a few levels before parking his car in his slot right near an entrance into the attached building. "Now if you'll just follow me to my office, we can speak there." Mr. Masters climbed out of the car and waited until Danny did the same before hitting the button on his keys to lock the doors with a sharp beep.

"This still feels like I'm being set up for something bad," Danny said bluntly, folding his arms protectively over his chest as he followed the man into the building.

"I assure you it's nothing bad."

"That's usually what the psychopath killer says before he slices open the victim and plays their guts," Danny said dryly with a sour glare at the man.

Mr. Masters arched his eyebrow in return. "What kind of things do you watch?" His nose wrinkled with a hint of mild disgust.

"Horror films mostly." Danny shrugged. "My friends and I enjoy them. They have this great thing during the summer where they broadcast the old black and white ones on the side of a building. We bring snacks and sit on a picnic blanket to watch them. It's a lot of fun."

Mr. Masters merely shook his head as he lead the way down the hall to his office. It was a fairly nice office with plenty of space. There was a large desk that Mr. Masters no doubt sat behind and tried to look intimidating, or whatever music agent type men did. There was a set of twin bookcases to either side of a wide screen television with the speakers built into the lower section of the bookcases. The shelves were lined with what looked like old vinyl records. Album awards were nailed up around the office, and there was even a small bar area where Mr. Masters could share a drink with clients, perhaps after they signed a big record contract with him.

"Okay," Danny said slowly, drawing his gaze away from wandering around the room and back to Mr. Masters. "Are we allowed to talk now?"

"Indeed." Mr. Masters poured himself a drink in a short glass with ice. Then he glanced Danny's way. "Want anything?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I just want to get this over with and go. I still have to meet my friends to discuss the show tonight."

"Ah, yes." Mr. Masters nodded as he walked over to his desk. "Your show." He took a sip of his drink then set it down on the desk. "Oh, do sit if you like." He gestured to the chairs in front of his desks.

Danny hesitated before walking over to sit down in one of the leather seats that was actually quite comfy. "What about my show?"

"I do apologize that Phantom has yet to make his appearance on it." Mr. Masters laced his fingers together, resting his hands on his desk. "I assure you I was not making agreements to have him on your show just to silence you from asking. I intended for him to appear, but, well, therein lies the problem."

"What problem?" Danny's brow creased, wishing the man would simply come out and say what it was.

"Sir, I've tried locating him at least a thousand different ways, but so far, Phantom is still missing," said a woman as she entered the office and strode up to the desk without even noticing Danny's presence. She was of average height with curves that would probably make Paulina jealous. Her ebony hair spilled down her back side, falling to just past her waist, and the darkness of her skin made her look like some exotic beauty.

"Phantom's missing?" Danny shouted, shock jolting his system.

"It would appear that way," Mr. Masters said grimly.

"You should have told me you were with someone." The woman glanced over her shoulder, her aqua colored eyes surveying him with a quick glance over. Or rather, a single eye looked him over as her ebony hair hid half her face. Then she snapped her head back around to the man behind the desk, her hair twirling about her body from the swift action. "You're kidding with this, aren't you, Sir?" Whatever the question referred to, the woman didn't sound very happy.

"You know I hardly ever kid," Mr. Masters answered, and Danny frowned as his gaze drifted back and forth between man and woman.

"It'll never work, and I think you're crazy." The woman folded her arms.

"Yeah, you're having nice conversation there. But could you maybe stop treating me like I'm not here?" Danny narrowed his eyes at the pair. "What exactly is this about Phantom being missing?"

"Get the team ready, if you will, Desiree."

"Right away, Sir." Desiree strolled toward the exit of the office. "Though I expect a raise for putting with this."

Danny watched the door close behind the woman before he turned back around in his seat and raised an eyebrow at Mr. Masters. "What exactly is going on?"

Mr. Masters twisted a pen in his hands. "Has anyone ever toward you that you have an uncanny resemblance to Phantom?"

Danny's brow knitted in the middle as he stared with zero amusement in his eyes. "You must be one seriously crazed up fruit loop if you think Phantom and I look anything alike." He stood up, preparing to leave, but Mr. Masters got up and hurried around his desk.

"Just let my team do a quick makeover," Mr. Masters said as he placed his hands on Danny's shoulders.

"Okay. Now I understand her reaction." Danny pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward the office door. "You can't really think you can replace Phantom with me."

"We've been looking for Phantom ever since the first time he skipped out on an appearance," Mr. Masters explained, his mouth drawing into a thin line of displeasure. From the frustration in his dark blue eyes, it was clear that he didn't appreciate his young star vanishing on him. "I've been rearranging appearances and making excuses for failures to show up at all. We've kept the secret well covered up, but eventually people are going to start wondering _why_ Phantom hasn't appeared publicly in a month. Imagine the disappointment of all his fans when they show up to his next concert here in Amity Park, and Phantom doesn't perform."

"And that's my problem?" Danny snorted.

"Many others would be more than happy for the chance to experience fame like this." Mr. Masters eyed him like he was trying to seek a weak point that might make Danny agree to participate in this ridiculous scheme. "You would be paid, of course, for your time and cooperation."

"That's wonderful," Danny said with sarcasm seeping into his voice. "I may not make a huge amount of money, but I'm quite satisfied with my job as a radio show personality. And if I was really looking to stand in the spotlight, I wouldn't be doing that under a false identity."

"And you would still be acting under a false identity. You would just be doing it on a grander scale."

Danny shook his head as he lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I happen to like my life as it is. I like attending my classes and working hard on my assignments. Sorry to disappoint you, but not everyone can be swayed by fame and fortune."

"I'm sure there's something that might draw your interest."

"Highly unlikely." Danny folded his arms as their gazes locked in a stare down. Mr. Masters crossed an arm over his chest as he held a hand to his chin. The time stretched on slowly, and Danny swallowed nervously, wondering what was going through the man's mind.

"As I recall, university dormitories aren't always the best," Mr. Masters said, his eyes narrowing slightly to gauge Danny's reaction. "Phantom has an apartment not too far from Amity Park University. It certainly wouldn't inconvenience you in any way to live there, and you wouldn't have to worry about rent, as I'm sure is another area of concern for any college student. You'd basically be paid to live in a nice, big, spacious apartment that's fully furnished."

Danny opened his mouth to refuse, but the word caught in his throat. He could have blissfully peaceful mornings where his jerk of a roommate wouldn't wake him up at the crack of dawn with the noise he called drumming? He wouldn't have to worry about rent which meant he could put his money toward other necessities like actually having food in his apartment other than ramen? It was more tempting than anything else he thought Mr. Masters might try to use against him.

"I really doubt this will work," Danny said, mentally kicking himself for the decision his brain chose. "I'll agree to help you, but," he held up a finger and glared at Mr. Masters, "whatever Phantom things you have planned need to work with _my_ schedule. I don't want to skip out on classes or fall behind and end up failing. And I need to be able make it to my show. I can't mysteriously disappear, and that would definitely bring up too many questions with my friends. I'm assuming you prefer I not tell anyone about this whole arrangement."

"That would be much appreciated." Mr. Masters bowed his head slightly. "We can hammer out the finer details of scheduling, but first," he snapped his fingers and the doors to his office opened, "time to see how you look as Phantom."

Danny glanced over his shoulder at the group of people that entered the office. As they surrounded him, he began to think that he, perhaps, made the wrong choice.

* * *

**Guest**: He'll never escape Dash being his fan boy in some way! XD;; *snaps fingers* Aw, Vlad and Danny being a super rock star! XD;;

**NikaStarlight**: Danny got all his moves from Jack. XD

**sohrem666**: Well, first... they need to actually find Phantom. D:

**maltese**: He is! I can't believe he wouldn't have figured out Danny is Phantom in the show. XD;; Dark blue~

**midnight**: That mystery didn't last long. D:

**ShadowsArch**: If only real life could sometimes be like a story~ *sighs*


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06**

"Okay! Enough! Stop!" Danny shouted, but the women holding him down hardly paid attention to his protests.

"Hold still or I'll jab your eye out," snapped the woman with short pink hair.

Danny's jaw clenched tightly as he tried to cringe away, but the other women had a tight hold on his head, making it impossible for him to move even an inch. The finger came closer and closer to his eye, and Danny tried desperately to blink but was unable to as his eye was held open. He barely felt the touch to his eye before the women finally released their hold on him and he wanted to drop to his knees after the whole ordeal.

"Oh, you're such a little baby," the pink haired woman said, rolling her dark brown eyes. "Haven't you ever worn contacts before?"

Danny blinked several times, trying to adjust to the strangeness of the contacts forced upon him. "I have them, but I never wear them." He rubbed at one eye in irritation. "I don't really like things coming that close to my eyes." The world was still a little blurry, and he turned his frown onto the woman, who was three inches shorter than he. "Can I at least wear my glasses so that everyone's not blobs of colors to me?"

"How fast do you think we can get a prescription of green colored contact lenses for him?" Mr. Masters asked, and once he was given his glasses back, Danny was able to see him much clearer as the man held a hand to his bearded chin and gave his secretary a curious look.

Desiree made a note on the clipboard she held with a shake of her head. "We'll have them before tomorrow."

"Excellent," Mr. Masters said, nodding his head. "Excellent. Now what do you think of our Phantom replacement?"

When both of them turned their gaze upon him, Danny swallowed nervously. He felt very out of his element in the new style of clothing that was far different what he normally wore. His jeans and NASA shirt with his maroon hooded sweatshirt were dumped in a pile on one of the chairs before Mr. Masters' desk. His shoes were worn out, and he was actually surprised that the soles hadn't started to wear away or fall off yet considering how much use he got out of them wandering all over campus each day, and they were about five years old now.

Now he was dressed in nice, hip hugging black slacks and a black button up collared shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The shiny black shoes felt awkward on his feet. The white necktie was loosely done, and the white vest was left open. His nose wrinkled at white polish on his nails that he didn't manage to escape the women adding after they yanked the fingerless white gloves onto his hands. There was no mirror in the office, so he couldn't see how he looked with the hair. But if they did everything to match Phantom, the white wig would be done in the sort of faux hawk style that Phantom was always seen wearing. He probably looked ridiculous with that style of hair.

"Well, he does look like Phantom," Desiree said after her aqua colored eye gave Danny a quick once over that made him shift uncomfortably under her gaze. "But the question remains if he can actually pull off _being_ Phantom."

"We can fix him with an earwig for interviews and feed the answers to him," Mr. Masters suggested.

"But if he acts like a stuttering, rambling idiot, people are going to wonder what's up. He needs the right Phantom attitude." Desiree set her clipboard down on the desk and strode up to where Danny stood, and he quickly took one step back with a gulp. "See?" She turned halfway to stare at Vlad. "That right there proves that he can't do this. Phantom doesn't back away like he's scared of people."

Danny's brow furrowed when Mr. Masters coughed into his hand though it didn't hide a tiny smirk that slipped onto his face. "I'm not scared of people," he argued with a frown drawing across his face. "I'm just not used to someone," he waved a hand at Desiree and swallowed thickly, "so beautiful approaching me." That wasn't entirely true since Paulina came up and talked to him and she was the prettiest woman at his college. But there was something rather imposing about the presence that radiated from Desiree.

"Aren't you sweet?" Desiree pinched his cheek in a grip that hurt. "But you better learn not to act like you're terrified of women since you're going to be interviewed by some women. Not to mention all the lovely fan girls that will want pictures and autographs. And I hope you know how to pose since you'll need to do some photo shoots."

"She is right about that," Mr. Masters agreed with a nod. "It's not enough for you to _look_ like Phantom. You have to be able to act like him too if we're going to pull this off."

"But you're still going to be looking for him, right?" Danny rubbed at his cheek, which still felt a touch colder than usual. He eyed Desiree with a curious furrowing of his brow. "You're not planning on using me as a permanent replacement, right? Because I can tell you right now, I'm not willing to do this forever."

"Of course." Desiree patted him on the shoulder. "This is just temporary. We'll still be searching everywhere to find Phantom. But until then, we're going to need to prep you on how to properly act as Phantom."

"Right," Danny said slowly as he frowned at the woman. "You," he narrowed his eyes, "wouldn't happen to be a ghost, would you?"

The team that worked on turning him from plain old Danny Fenton into rock star Phantom gasped, pausing as they packed away their supplies or replaced clothing onto hangers to put on the rack with the other clothes that Phantom apparently wore. Danny glanced over his shoulder to lift a curious eyebrow at them then began to wonder if he shouldn't have said anything. If they didn't know that Desiree was a ghost, Danny doubted she would want him to out her like that.

"Oh, this kid is a sharp one." Desiree smirked as she gazed appraisingly at him. "What gave me away?"

"Your touch is too cold." Danny let his gaze run over her body from top to bottom and up again. "Though I have to admit, I've never seen a ghost that's perfected a human disguise as well as you have. The ghost that recently showed up at our counseling offices comes pretty close, but she still has pretty big tells that she's a ghost."

"You pay a great deal of attention to ghosts then?" Desiree's visible eyebrow lifted as she stared at him.

"Well," Danny shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck, "it's hard not to be a little curious about ghosts when you've lived in a town that's pretty much filled with ghosts all your life."

"How cute. He blushes." Desiree smirked before she walked back over to the desk to pick up her clipboard. "I'll start getting things prepared. You don't have plans tomorrow, right?" She glanced back Danny's way. "We can set up an interview or two for you tomorrow."

"Uh, no, I should be free tomorrow." Danny bobbed his head. "I can probably get all my homework finished before then, so that shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience."

"Good." Desiree strode toward the door of the office and walked right through it without bothering to act human and open it.

"I didn't just out her, did I?" Danny winced as he chewed on his lip.

Mr. Masters shook his head. "No, everyone that works here is well aware that she's a ghost. Though most of my clients remain oblivious to that fact, so if you are ever around them, if you could," he tapped a finger to his mouth, "keep silent about that fact, it would be appreciated."

"Oh, right! Sure!" Danny bobbed his head a few times then he blinked. "Is that why you said Amity Park seemed appropriate for setting up your studio?"

"Something like that." A smirk tugged at the corner of Mr. Masters' mouth. "Now," he picked up something from his desk, "this is the address to Phantom's apartment and the key." He handed the slip of paper and key over to Danny. "And remember, this must be kept secret, so you can't invite _anyone_ over to visit."

Danny glanced over the address on the slip of paper before turning a dull stare onto the man. "You only see me some irresponsible college student only looking to party, don't you?"

"I'm just being cautious." Mr. Masters folding his arms behind his back as he returned the dull stare. "You're free to go for today, but we'll need you here around seven tomorrow morning."

"Seven?" Danny gawked at him.

"Yes. We'll need plenty of time to prep you to look like Phantom then we'll have to practice with you to help you act more like him for the interviews later."

Danny sighed tiredly as he slouched his shoulders. "Great. As if my life wasn't already hectic enough just with classes and running the radio show."

"Radio show?" asked a woman with short twisted spiky hair and a nose ring.

"Yes, ladies." Mr. Masters dropped his hands onto Danny's shoulders, spinning him around to face the team that gave him the makeover. "This is the famous little Badger from that midnight radio show."

"Hey!" Danny shouted in protest, snapping a glare onto the man. "It's just Badger. There's nothing _little_ about me."

"Really?" The woman with her long red hair tied back in a braid that reached to her waist smirked suggestively at him.

Danny gulped at her response. "Uh, that's not, um-"

"I always wondered who the mysterious Badger was," said the pink haired woman. "Who knew it would be Phantom's long lost twin?"

"Now, ladies," Mr. Masters gave them a stern look, "as with the secret of Phantom's disappearance, you must keep this man's identity as little Badger a secret as well."

"Okay, seriously." Danny frowned at the record producer. "It's just Badger."

"Right, right." Mr. Masters nodded, though he didn't seem to really listen to Danny's complaint. "Let's give him some privacy to change back into his regular clothes. Now shall we?"

"Aw!" whined the red haired woman as she pushed the rack of clothes toward the door that Mr. Masters held open. The spiky haired woman followed after her, lugging a large kit that kept their makeup and other tools of the trade.

"Don't forget to take out the contacts before you leave," said the pink haired woman as she placed a contacts holder in his hand. Then she pulled off the white wig and ruffled up his raven locks with a grin before she skipped out of the office with the others. Mr. Masters closed the door once Danny was alone in the office.

With a sigh, Danny walked over to the chair where his clothes were. Was this really even happening? Now that he was alone in the office without the makeup team clamoring around him or Mr. Masters and Desiree chatting about things, it all felt surreal to him. He expected any moment to hear the loud clutter of noise that was his roommate's drumming to wake him out of this odd dream. But he knew he was very much awake.

"What did I get myself into?" Danny mumbled, rubbing at his forehead. He really didn't need to add secret rock star to the list of things to complicate his life. His mouth pressed thin when he thought about the radio show. They wouldn't be able to agree to have Phantom appear on his show because it would be impossible for him to keep the secret from Tucker and Sam that way. Plus interviewing himself would simply be weird.

Shaking his head, Danny started changing back into his regular clothes. After he finished tying his shoes, he shoved the key and address into his pocket. When he grabbed his bag to sling across his chest, he noticed the contacts holder that he had set on the desk while he changed. He glanced around the room and groaned when he noticed again that there was no mirror. His nose wrinkled as he twisted the caps off the holder. He really hated contacts. After a small struggle, he managed to remove the contacts and place them in the holder that he then left on the desk.

As he shouldered his bag, Danny stepped out of the office. Desiree sat at a desk right outside the office, busily typing away on a computer. Mr. Masters waited for him, leaning against the desk with his arms folded.

"I had a guest badge made for you," Vlad said as he held out the badge. "Just flash it to the guards in the lobby, and they'll let you pass."

"That was pretty quick," Danny mumbled, blinking in surprise as he took the badge presented to him. When he looked it over, he saw that it was rather plain, basically a badge with the Spook Records logo and the word "GUEST" written in large, bold lettering. It didn't have a picture or his name to identify him, making it so that the badge could work for anyone.

Mr. Masters shrugged it off with a small roll of his shoulders. "Remember. Seven AM. Don't be late."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I got it." He stuffed the badge into his bag. "I shall be here on the dot." He saluted the man then gave a small wave to Desiree before he turned and headed toward the elevator. Once he was inside and the doors closed, he hit the button for the lobby then glanced at his watch. "Great," he muttered with a sigh. "I'm barely going to be able to meet Sam and Tuck before they have to head off to class." He raked a hand through his hair as he tried to think of excuses to explain why he was late to meet them.

* * *

**sohrem666**: Yay comedy gold! 8D Haha, poor Danny. He really doesn't know what's he's gotten himself into. XD

**That Ghost Geek**: Thanks!

**NikaStarlight**: Oh! I hadn't even thought of that. XD;; It's been forever since I've seen that movie.

**Rii**: Yeah. XD Haha, yeah, Danny's got his work cut out for him trying to replace Phantom. Nope. No plans yet on relationships. XD;; I do have a pitch pearl story in the works though. Vlad just like looking intimidating. XD;; Thanks!

**Midnight**: Haha, well, not a lot of makeup really. More just the hair and eyes that need fixing beyond clothing style. And people that go on TV are always putting on makeup and such anyway.

**Inisfree**: Thanks! =) I watched, like, five minutes of something, and the idea popped into my head, and I had to run with it. XD;;;

**jelloshots99**: Yes! Couldn't leave out Vlad. XD It's too crazy an idea for them to think that Phantom and Fenton look alike? XD;; Plus with different hair styling that can really affect a person's appearance. Haha, Lancer's a sharp one! I wouldn't be surprised if he figured it out. XD


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 07**

Danny sighed as he pulled the headset off and set it on the console. The two hour program felt even longer tonight, and he suspected that was in part from taking calls in which the people asked about when Phantom would appear on the show. The other part was his excitement of being able to pack up his things and move out of that apartment with his frustrating roommate. The key to Phantom's apartment felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket, waiting for him to finally go over there and see in what sort of place the famous Phantom lived.

"It's amazing the sort of things you find out," Tucker said, chuckling as he leaned against the console. "How do you find out everything? Got some secret ghostly contacts?"

Danny shrugged. "Not all of them are bad. Unless we're talking about those twins that hang out in the northern section of campus." A cold shudder ran through him, and he halfway feared that simply mentioning them might draw the pair of ghosts over to the studio. He only passed by that part of the campus once, and simply catching a glimpse of them was enough to scare him away from ever cutting through that area again.

"Please don't mention them." Tucker clapped his hands over his ears with a terrified look in his green eyes. "It's bad enough I have classes around there. I like to pretend they don't exist."

"Even I'm not too keen on their presence," Sam said as she entered the studio. "There's just something-" She shivered, and that was all that was needed to get her point across to the two men. Danny doubted there was anyone at their college that went anywhere near the twin ghosts, unless it was another ghost. "I'm actually surprised that we've gotten some pictures for the contest that are actually good. I really liked the one with Paulina and Dash smearing ice cream on each other's faces. It almost makes them seem like they aren't completely snobby A list bullies."

"It's surprising that they can actually be nice," Danny agreed with a chuckle. Then he sighed as he dropped his chin in his hand. "But I wonder if that niceness from today will stick."

"Dash and Paulina being nice? I'd have to be there to believe it." Sam's mouth pursed as she glanced Danny over, her violet gaze settling on his hand. "Since when do you paint your nails?"

Danny blinked and dropped his gaze to his other hand resting on the console. After changing back into his regular clothes, he had forgotten that the makeup women painted his nails white. "Uh," he said, fumbling for an excuse to explain the oddity. "Paulina." He glanced up at Sam to gauge her reaction to that answer. "She got bored while we were hanging around downtown to take pictures for the contest, after she roped me into it, and decided to paint my nails for fun."

"And you let her?" Tucker gaped at him in surprise.

"It seemed like a small price to pay to keep on their good side for the day." Danny grabbed his books and started packing them away into his bag. He still had a few things to finish up for Monday, and with whatever Mr. Masters had planned for tomorrow, he wanted to be certain that he had everything finished before morning.

"I still can't believe you actually agreed to take pictures for her." Sam frowned darkly, and Danny sighed internally, knowing how much Sam and Paulina failed to get along. "Isn't that kind of cheating for the contest?"

"In what way?" Danny turned a curious look her way as he stood and pulled his bag on across his chest. "No one knows that I'm Badger except the two of you." He felt like groaning but resisted it when he remembered that Lancer, Mr. Masters, Desiree, and the three makeup women now knew his secret too. "And anyway, all I did was take the pictures. It's up to the people voting, which I'm not one of, to decide whether or not that picture is good enough to win the contest."

"He does make a convincing point there," Tucker said then shrank behind Danny when Sam glared at him.

"I guess you _did_ think it out," Sam grumbled, clearly not happy having to allow Paulina's entry into the contest.

"Yup." Danny threw his arms over his friends' shoulders. "Now, shall we get out of here and enjoy the rest of our Saturday night?"

"Well, technically, it's Sunday morning now," Tucker pointed out as they headed for the door out of the studio.

"Whatever. Are we going to do anything?" Danny glanced expectantly between his friends.

"I don't know. I have a lot of homework left to do," Tucker said.

Sam rolled her eyes. "That's because you get lazy and wait until the last minute to do it all."

"What? Hey!" Tucker pouted back at her. "I still have a whole day left to finish it. That's not waiting until the last minute."

"So Tucker's out. What about you, Sam?" Danny turned his gaze onto his other friend. As much as he wanted to head back to his apartment and get his stuff, he knew it would seem suspicious if he didn't at least act like he wanted to hang out and do something after their Saturday show like usual.

"I just want to get some sleep," Sam admitted then cover her mouth with a hand as she yawned widely. "I spent most of the day trying to get in contact with Phantom's manager. No luck there." Her mouth pulled downward, and she looked _very_ unhappy with that fact. "I think he's actually trying to avoid me."

A nervous laugh tried to bubble its way out of him at the mention of Phantom and his manager. Danny knew exactly why they were unable to get Phantom to appear on their show now, but he couldn't say anything about it to his friends. He realized it in that moment how much agreeing to Mr. Masters' offer was going to suck. How was he supposed to keep up the lies to his friends? Sam and Tucker's relationship was about the only secret between them. Until now.

"Maybe he's just super busy." Danny shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You know, Phantom's not his _only_ client. He has a lot of other musicians and bands to manage with different appearances to balance out and stuff."

"And now you're defending him?" Sam's brow furrowed as her violet eyes flicked over him.

"I'm just saying that you can't get angry at him for having several acts to keep track of. It's possible that he simply hasn't gotten around to calling you back yet."

"Well, you two are having a fun debate," Tucker cut in. "I'm going to head off now." He waved to them as he turned down another path that headed toward his apartment.

After waving to Tucker, Sam turned on Danny, folding her arms as she frowned, purple painted lips thinning. "Just because he's a big superstar doesn't mean he should start ignoring the little guys. The fans are the ones that made him such a success. If he starts ignoring them and treating them like trash, they're going to turn on him, and he's going to fall hard from his high horse."

"Sam, when I asked if you wanted to do something tonight, I didn't mean get into a debate." Danny sighed tiredly as he hung his head. "As for Phantom, I'm sure he'll come on the show. Just have some patience."

"If you say so," Sam muttered, not sounding very convinced. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a wave before heading off to her own apartment.

Danny watched her go then sighed when she was out of sight. He hadn't even posed as Phantom for the first time in public and already he was feeling that the whole thing was going to provide him with plenty of headaches.

"You seem like you have something on your mind."

Danny nearly jumped at the sudden voice in his ear. When he glanced to the side, he spotted the floating little green ghost, who had his hands on what could be considers his hips. It was really hard to tell with his tiny blob of a body. "What are you doing here, Skulker?" Danny asked as he poked at the ghost with one finger.

"Don't do that!" Skulker smacked at the finger as his cheeks turned a darker shade of green.

Danny grinned before he turned down the path that was the shortest route to his apartment. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

"I was on my greatest hunt yet!" Skulker said, excitement entering his voice as he spoke. "A ferocious dragon-"

"There are dragons?" Danny lifted his brows in surprise. "Was there a unicorn as well?"

"Don't be silly, whelp," Skulker chided. He floated over to Danny and took a seat upon his shoulder.

"A dragon doesn't exactly sound like you're kind of thing though." Danny glanced at him curiously as they arrived at his apartment. "You know, the whole one of a kind thing. Unless there's only one dragon?"

"Ha! Only one dragon." Skulker laughed. "No, the dragon was merely guarding the treasure."

"And did you get it?" Danny climbed the stairs to his apartment.

Skulker was silent for a moment. Then he folded his arms and looked away as he grumbled, "No."

"Ah, maybe next time then." Danny smirked a little as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Skulker liked to tell him stories of his latest adventures in hunting, but his success was about even with his failures. Once inside his apartment, Danny took a glance around and was relieved that his roommate wasn't present, or at least awake. He crossed the apartment and slipped into his room. "So what exactly was the treasure?"

Skulker left his perch on Danny's shoulder and floated over to sit on the desk. "It's said to give the wearer infinite power." He was practically drooling ectoplasm onto the desk at the thought of acquiring that unique treasure to add to his collection.

Danny nodded, only half listening as he grabbed his stuff and packed it all up. He was thankful that he didn't actually have a huge amount of possessions in his room. His laptop fit nicely into his bag that he carried around with him pretty much everywhere. The rest of his things were mostly clothes and his school books. Anything that he didn't need for school, he left at home with his parents. "What a shame that you weren't able to get it."

"Yes," Skulker agreed gravely. "I shall have to think of a way to outsmart and out power that dragon for my next attempt at that treasure." He blinked, red eyes surveying what the human was doing. "Are you leaving?" He sounded surprised and baffled at this development.

"Yup." Danny grinned widely. "I found a much better place to live for the remainder of the school year."

"That roommate still giving you problems?" Skulker frowned darkly as he glared in the direction of Spike's bedroom. "I could give him a little scare."

"That would only get you kicked off campus," Danny reminded as he struggled to carry all of the bags holding his things. "Principal Ishiyama might allow ghostly presences on campus, but if you start harassing students, she will have you removed faster than you can blink."

"That would be most unpleasant," Skulker agreed, following Danny from the bedroom. Skulker was only allowed on campus in his natural form as Principal Ishiyama worried that the battle suit he wore might encourage him to harm students. As a tiny blob, Skulker didn't look very threatening. "I've come to enjoy our chats. You're not bad for a meat sack."

"Thanks. I think." Danny's brow furrowed at being called a meat sack. When he was back in the hall, relief washed over him. He was finally getting away from Spike and his irritating racket in the morning. "Are you planning on following me?" He frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at Skulker.

"Oh. I see. Am I not good enough for your fancy new place?" Skulker folded his arms and turned his head. If he didn't know any better, Danny would swear that Skulker was pouting.

"That's not true." Danny sighed as he headed back down the stairs. "It's just-" His shoulders sagged slightly, and he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Okay. You can come. But this is _secret_. You can't blab this to _anyone_. Got it?" He gave the ghost a firm glare.

Skulker snorted. "Who would I tell that cares about the secrets of meat sacks, whelp?"

"I'm going to take that to mean you're promising to keep it secret." Danny reached the bottom of the stairs and left the apartment building. The great thing about the radio show ending at two in the morning was that hardly anyone was out to question where he was going with all his stuff. If Dash caught him, Danny wasn't sure how he would explain things to the jock.

Danny walked toward the entrance gate of the university, lugging all of his bags as Skulker floated along beside him. The Renaissance was a fairly well known, and expensive for Amity Park, apartment complex. Danny had no trouble finding it, but when he entered the building, he got more than a few looks from the employees as he crossed the lobby toward the elevators. He almost expected to be stopped by someone, but the employees either watched him silently or merely returned to their work. Once he was in the elevator and the door closed behind him, Danny dropped his bags onto the floor and retrieved the key and note from his pocket. He hit the button for the fourteenth floor then rubbed at his aching shoulders.

"This place seems a bit out of your price range." Skulker gave him an accusing glare.

"Hence why this is secret," Danny said as he leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"Have you been up to something illegal?"

"Since when do you care about what's legal or not?" Danny lifted an eyebrow.

"Good point."

"It's nothing illegal. Uh, not really. I'm just helping out with a problem for a while."

When the elevator doors opened again, Danny picked up all his bags and carried them down the hall until he reached the door with the number one-four-zero-three on it in gold. He managed to get the key into the door and unlock it, nudging the door open with his foot. Skulker floated past him to flick on the lights as Danny kicked the door shut after him. Walking farther into the apartment, Danny gasped at the spaciousness and dumped his bags onto a couch. This was definitely going to work for him. His mouth pulled into a wide smile as he noted the wide screen television and latest gaming consoles. Tucker would love that, if Danny was allowed to even tell him about this place.

"Whelp!"

Danny glanced Skulker's way when he heard the shout. But a second later, something grabbed hold of him from the back. A leg swiped at his feet, knocking him off balance as the person slammed him into the floor. His head hit the floor hard enough to blur his vision for a moment. A body was on top of him in the next moment, holding him pinned down with the length of the forearm pressed against his throat. His mind spun, trying to keep up with what was happening, and he forced his gaze to come into focus again as he stared up at the shadowy figure over him. At that moment, he wondered all the more about what he just got himself into by agreeing to pose as Phantom.

* * *

**sohrem666**: XD Poor Danny~ Getting tossed around all over the place.

**Rii**: I try to update quickly. XD;; This, writing, it's all I do with my life. orz I have no real life skills. orz Danny's parents teach classes on the paranormal. He's just happy that they don't teach at the university. XD;; They do hunt down any nasty ghosts that show up to harm anyone in town though.

**midnight**: Thanks! XD Haha, I can't resist Vlad calling him little Badger.

**jelloshots99**: Ah~ How could he not? XD Yay! I'm glad you found it funny. 8D

**MsFrizzle**: Yay! Thanks~ =) That should be an interesting scene. 8D Phantom and Fenton finally meeting. Danny might just be! D: How is he going to keep up with everything?

**The Magnetic Witch**: Thanks! =D I'm glad you like it!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 08**

"Who are you?"

Danny blinked a few times, trying to refocus his eyes enough to identify the blurry person over him demanding questions of him. The arm pressing into his throat wasn't exactly helping with his ability to breathe, especially after being winded when he hit the floor.

"Leave him alone!" Skulker shouted, and Danny felt a bit touched at his concern. Skulker didn't tend to express any care for others, beyond anything he wished to add to his collection of rare finds.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you ghost," the person over him said, and the voice was distinctly female. Danny heard the familiar noise of the click of a safety being released.

Skulker released a low whistle. "Now that is some fine weaponry you have."

Danny rolled his eyes. When it came to tech and weapons, Skulker's interest could be piqued. Whatever the woman had must be something impressive if it stopped Skulker in his tracks. In his small form though, Danny doubted the ghost would be able to cause much damage to the woman.

"Um," Danny said, wheezing out as he struggled to adjust the arm to allow him to breathe. "Do you mind getting off me?"

The woman turned her head back toward him, and Danny was relieved to see her more clearly. She seemed to be around his age with dark skin and her black hair braided back in rows with the ends left loose in a curly mess at the base of her head. Her green eyes stared down at him, and Danny managed a weak smile, hoping she would take mercy upon him and stop crushing his throat. After a moment's hesitation, she lifted her arm and sat up with her legs straddling his waist.

"What do you think you're doing breaking in here?" the woman demanded, and her gaze slid sideways. "With a ghost pest no less." Her eyes narrowed at the green blob of a ghost checking out the blaster that she kept pointed in his direction.

"I didn't break in," Danny argued, sitting up on one arm as he rubbed at his throat with the other hand. "Mr. Masters gave me the key."

"Masters?" The woman snapped her gaze back to him as her brow creased slightly. "You know Vlad?"

"Yeah," Danny answered slowly, hesitant to find out her reaction after she knocked him down and pinned him to the floor already. "I know it's going to sound a bit crazy, but he-" Danny stopped himself as his mouth drew into a frown. Mr. Masters told him not to tell anyone about their whole arrangement of Danny standing in for the missing Phantom. His brow pinched as he looked the woman over. She dressed tight Spandex pants and a tank top with a sheen of sweat upon her smooth skin. She clearly was working out just moments before he and Skulker entered the apartment. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I live here," the woman said, rolling her eyes as if he was stupid for asking.

"Do you mind not pointing that at me anymore?" Skulker questioned. "I'm not going to do anything to you."

"He's harmless," Danny assured the woman, who looked doubtful. He sighed when Skulker shot him a glare. "Okay. Not harmless, but he's not going to attack you. He's not interested in fighting, unless you have something one of a kind that he wants."

The woman hesitated then lowered her weapon, and Danny sighed in relief. Skulker floated over to Danny and plopped down on one of his shoulders as he folded his arms.

"I can't believe you called me harmless," Skulker grumbled, miffed at the suggestion that he was as weak as other blob ghosts that were the same size that he was.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Danny breathed out tiredly when Skulker twisted around, refusing to look at him. Then he looked toward the woman, who was watching them with an odd expression of curiosity on her face. "I'm Danny Fenton," he said, holding out a hand to her. "And this is Skulker."

"The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter," Skulker added.

"But his success rate really isn't all that great," Danny whispered and received a sharp bite to his shoulder, courtesy of an angry Skulker.

The woman laughed, trying to hide it behind a curled hand, and Danny smiled, relaxing under her. "I'm Valerie Gray." She shook his still extended hand. "And I'm sure you're a fierce hunter," she added to Skulker, who actually flushed lightly before trying to make it look like her comment had no affect on him. "But why did Vlad let you come to Phantom's apartment?"

"Uh, well," Danny said, stumbling over his words as he searched for an explanation that didn't give away the true reason for why he was there. "What are you doing in Phantom's apartment? Mr. Masters didn't mention anything about Phantom having a roommate."

"Roommate?" Valerie's mouth pursed in consideration. "I guess you could say that too. I'm Phantom's bodyguard."

"What?" Danny gaped at her. "But you're-" He hesitated when she glared coldly at him. "You're so young! I mean, you look like you're the same age as me. But you're already a bodyguard?"

Valerie shrugged. "My dad is a security guard that works for Vlad, so I've known him for years. And I'm pretty used to ghosts, and despite that my dad doesn't like to approve of it, I've trained in fighting for years. I had a ninth degree black belt in karate when I was in my freshmen year of high school. Vlad thought that Phantom might like having someone around his age be his bodyguard, so he hired me."

"Ninth degree black belt?" Danny smirked a little. "You should have a talk with my mom. She has one too. I bet she'd be happy to spar with you some time."

Valerie nodded with a wry smirk of her own. "I might see about taking her up on that, if she wants to." Then her expression twisted back to a serious look. "You still haven't explained why you're here."

"If you're supposed to be Phantom's bodyguard," Danny said hesitantly, not wanting to give the woman cause to use some of that ninth degree black belt skill on him, again, "how is it that Phantom is missing?"

Valerie opened her mouth, anger upon her face. Then she frowned, brow creasing as she turned her head away and her shoulders slumped. "You know about that?" She sighed, closing her eyes with a troubled expression on her face. "I'm usually pretty good about keeping an eye on him. We were at a club. You know, making an appearance for the public. He slipped into the bathroom. Yeah, I know that sounds strange. What ghost goes to the bathroom? But-"

"Ghost?" Danny's eyes widened with surprise.

Valerie blinked at him. "And that's exactly why he went to the bathroom." The corner of her mouth turned upward in a sneaky smirk. "He has to keep up the appearance of being human for those not in the know. He can't spend the whole night at a club out on the dance floor and greeting people. It would look strange if anyone took the time to actually notice it. So it's not unusual that he makes a trip or two to the bathroom while we're at the club."

"Except then he didn't come out of the bathroom." Danny was still surprised to learn that Phantom was indeed a ghost. The name now seemed like a dead giveaway of his identity, but people always assumed the name and the snow white hair were just a part of his rock star persona so didn't take it too seriously that Phantom might actually be a ghost.

Valerie nodded. "It would look strange if I went into the bathroom with him. But it's also a chance for him to catch a moment of privacy in a crowded club, if no one else happens to be in there at the time." She sighed and leaned back on her arms. "I guess I got so used to him never doing anything rebellious, so I let my guard down. I stood by the door and listened, just in case anyone was in there and, you know, started trouble with him. But he's a ghost, and he doesn't need to make a sound to just slip out of the building."

Danny bobbed his head as he listened. Ghosts were primarily intangible. Having a corporeal form was something that took a great deal of training, and many ghosts never bothered to learn how to turn their bodies tangible. Lost in his thoughts about ghosts and theories about their abilities, Danny missed when Valerie leaned toward him until he noticed her face right before his own.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Danny asked, feeling rather comfortable, much like when Mr. Masters stopped him on the street and grabbed hold of his face. Valerie plucked the glasses from his face, and her mouth dropped open. "Uh." Danny's gaze darted toward Skulker, who shrugged, knowing no better than Danny what the woman was doing.

"Are you even real?" Valerie pinched at his cheeks, tugging on them as if she thought his face was a mask. "You're like-" Her eyes grew wide. "So _that's_ why you're here!"

"Why does everyone think I look like him?" Danny frowned, reaching up to rub at a cheek. "Hey!" he shouted and hurriedly fumbled to stop her from yanking up the hooded sweat shirt he wore.

"Same face, same height," Valerie mumbled, like she was ticking items off a mental list. Her hands pinched at his sides, and Danny twitched, biting down hard on his tongue to stop from laughing. "Well, Phantom's not ticklish, but you've got the same build." She lifted her gaze to him, and Danny didn't miss the hesitation in her eyes. "You didn't have a twin that died, did you?"

Danny shook his head. "The only sibling I have is my sister Jazz. I never had any other siblings."

"It's bizarre how much you look like him."

Danny shrugged, not sure how to respond to that comment. Until Mr. Masters stopped him, no one had ever told him he looked anything like Phantom. "So, uh, now that you know why I'm here," he said, glancing around with a light flush, "can I get up off the floor?"

Valerie stared at him then seemed to realize how they were position. She jumped to her feet and offered her hand out to him to help him to his feet. "Sorry about that. Vlad didn't mention anything to me about finding someone to fill in for Phantom."

"He didn't exactly tell me about Phantom having a live in bodyguard, so I think we're even there." Danny chuckled with only a little awkwardness as he scratched at the back of his head. He didn't miss Skulker's roll of his eyes.

"A little of warning still would have been nice." Valerie started to fold her arms before remembering that she still held his glasses. She held them up to her face and stared through the lens. "Your vision is horrible!" She handed the glasses back to him and rubbed at one of her eyes.

"Yeah." Danny sighed as he put his glasses back on. "And I'm not looking forward to having to wear those contacts." He shuddered simply thinking about having to put a finger close to his eyes to put the contacts in and take them out again. After a quick glance about the apartment, his gaze landed back on the woman before him. "So I'm guessing this whole apartment is only to make it seem like Phantom is human."

"And to give me a place to live." Valerie shrugged and walked over to one of the couches to sit. "I could always live with my dad, but I like the independence of living here. Phantom's usually good about not misbehaving while I catch some sleep at night. But I can also turn on a ghost shield to keep him trapped in here if I think he might sneak off." She smirked deviously.

Danny walked over to join her on the couch. "Mr. Masters sure has a lot of dealings with ghosts. Just how many people in his employ are actually ghosts?"

"A lot." Valerie's gaze drifted toward Skulker, still sitting on Danny's shoulders. "But you seem pretty comfortable with ghosts yourself."

"My parents do a lot of research about ghosts and developing technology to stop any hostile ghosts that appear. So I've heard about ghosts basically since I was born. I've also been studying them throughout my schooling. I guess it kind of runs in the family." Danny tugged at his ear, not sure why he was suddenly feeling embarrassed to admit that to someone.

"Oh." Valerie paused briefly. "Oh! You're _that_ Fenton!"

"I guess my parents' reputation precedes me." Danny's mouth twitched into a small smile before it fell. His parents weren't entirely seen in a good light in public opinion. They could come up with some crazy ideas, and his father could sometimes seem like a big goof in his excitement that led to minor miscalculations on inventions and mishaps in the field.

"It's still kind of surprising to see you treating ghosts like friends," Valerie said as she leaned back against the couch and rested her arms on the back of it. "A lot of people tolerate the existence of ghosts, others really hate that ghosts exist on our plane, but very few treat them as equal."

Danny was silent for a moment as he mulled over his response. "I guess sometimes I feel like a ghost. You know, the whole invisibility thing. I'm not very popular at school, and most people treat me like I'm not even there. Except bullies. But," he shrugged, "it's not like they're all evil. Some of them are pretty nice to talk to. I've kind of been associating with them ever since I was a child, so I guess I've always kind of seen them as equal."

"I wish more people thought like that," Valerie said with a sigh. "Oh, but never say something like that around Desiree."

"What?" Danny blinked, stunned by the warning.

"That's her ability. She grants wishes. But like genies, they usually aren't exactly what you expect. So you should be careful about what you say around her. She doesn't intentionally grant them to harm people. She doesn't really have control over it. Once she hears 'I wish,' she has to grant it."

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm around her." Danny shivered to think what might happen if he ever accidentally wished for something in front of Desiree. He was glad for the warning because he wouldn't want to force her to grant some silly wish that slipped out on a whim. "I guess being Phantom's bodyguard, you know him pretty well, huh?"

Valerie tilted her head then nodded. "Yeah, I guess I know him pretty well. We do spend a lot of time together, after all."

"Well, I have to know how to act like him, and I'm clearly _nothing_ like him. Any advice?" Danny gave her a hopeful look.

"Hm." Valerie pondered as she looked him over with a critical eye. "Well, in front of the camera and his fans, Phantom isn't all Mr. Nice Guy like you."

"In other words, you mean he's got a spine," Skulker put in helpfully, which gained a frown from Danny.

"Basically," Valerie agreed with a wince. "It's not like that's a bad thing," she added quickly. "But if you're going to pretend to be Phantom, you can't act like someone in the background. Phantom takes charge and commands the room. He walks about like he owns everything. He doesn't just hunch up in the corner and try to be invisible to the world."

"It's not like I _try_ to be invisible," Danny grumbled. "I used to try to get in with the popular kids at school, but I never really fit in with them. After a year or two of trying, I gave up. I realized the friends I had were better than having to pretend to be someone I'm not just to be liked and constantly having to prove myself just to stay friends with them. After that, being invisible didn't really bother me as much. It's actually pretty amazing what you can see and hear in this world when no one really takes notice of you."

"That's fine for you. But if you act like that as Phantom, people are going to know right away you're not him." Valerie stood up and grabbed hold of his hand, dragging Danny off the couch. "Come on. We'll practice. Telling you about him will only get you so far. You have to actually have some experience pretending to be him."

"You're going to laugh at me when I completely foul this up, aren't you?" Danny sighed as he hung his head.

"I can't promise that I won't." Valerie wore a tiny smirk. "You mentioned bullies earlier, right?" She frowned when Danny nodded. "I could teach you a few moves. You know, to protect yourself. If you want."

"I'm not really much of a fighter," Danny admitted, though he felt relief that they were getting along so well. He didn't think this whole facade would work all that well if his "bodyguard" treated him something like the bullies at school. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn a few things to take care of myself."

"Great. Then let's get started." Valerie took command, instructing Danny how to act around interviewers and fans. She helped him figure out how to stand and walk and sit like Phantom. Skulker sat on the couch and snickered whenever Valerie corrected Danny on how to speak like Phantom. The night felt longer than usual, and Danny was more than happy to crawl into bed, curl up, and fall asleep.

* * *

**Inisfree**: Yay! =D I'm glad you'll be following it! Was your suspicion correct? 8D

**NikaStarlight**: Poor Danny. He's regretting all his choices lately. D8

**Rii**: I can't help it. orz Cliffhangers are too tempting to pass up. Cute little Skulker! XD;; I like the idea of Skulker and Danny becoming friends.

**maltese**: Yay! I'm glad it's fun! 8D Haha, unarmored!Skulker. XD I think he has someone new that he doesn't mind not being in his armor around now.

**jelloshots99**: I'm so mean! I dropped the cliffhanger and ran! D: My apologies! orz Skulker's like a squishy little teddy bear. That gets angry. XD;; Skulker doesn't seem to admit to caring about people often, so Danny feels kind of honored when Skulker shows concern for him. 8D;;;

**midnight**: Nope. No Phantom yet. D:


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 09**

Danny snuggled happily into the fluffy pillows, enjoying the peace of the morning that wasn't soon to be interrupted by the irritating racket of Spike's drumming. He could finally get a good night's sleep and wake up on his own time, and he decided he could definitely get used to sleeping in a nice cushy, warm bed like this one. Then a blast of chill hit his skin as the thick covers were ripped away from him.

"Hey!" Danny shouted in protest as he sat up quickly, scrambling to recover the blankets.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Valerie stood at the foot of the bed, holding the blankets well out of Danny's reach. One corner of her mouth stretched upward in a smirk. Her workout clothes were gone, replaced by a soft yellow V-neck sweater over a white collared shirt, of which she left the top two buttons undone, and a pair of dark pants.

Danny slowly lowered his gaze and came to the embarrassing realization that he sat there in front of her in nothing but his boxers. He quickly scrambled out of bed and ripped one of the blankets from her hand to cover up his body. "Do you always just barge in to someone's room?" he demanded, flushing over the fact that she caught him in such a state.

"Normally I don't have to worry about catching the occupant with so little clothing," Valerie said as she tossed the rest of the blankets onto the bed. "Phantom doesn't really sleep after all." She turned around to face Danny as she placed her hands on her hips. "Vlad was kind enough to contact me last night. It seems he meant to do that earlier, but with everything he had to get done with arrange appearances, not to mention the other musicians that he has signed to his label, it apparently slipped his mind. Anyway, he informed me that he wanted you at his office at seven. It's my job to make sure you get there on time."

"I am capable of waking up and getting to places on time without someone's help." Danny adjusted his hold on the blanket then headed toward where he left his things last night before falling asleep. Pausing before he reached his things, Danny turned around and stared at Valerie, who lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "Did you just call me pretty?"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I called you sleeping beauty. You were being a pain to wake up. I think I called your name for ten minutes straight without a response."

"Oh." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck, embarrassment rising up in him again. "I guess it was just a relief not to be woken up by my roommate at the crack of dawn that I just didn't want to wake up yet."

"Well, hurry up and get dressed. I'll make up some breakfast for us. Then we can head to the office." Valerie walked toward the door of the room.

"You can cook too?" Danny asked curiously.

"I'm a girl of many talents." Valerie smiled then left him alone in the bedroom.

"Now that's a woman I can admire," Skulker said, appearing suddenly to settle on Danny's head. "Strong, independent, knows her weapons."

Danny dropped the blanket and knelt down to dig through his things for something to wear. "I'm hurt. Are you going to start spending all your time with her?"

Skulker pulled at a lock of his raven hair, making Danny yelp at the small sting of pain. "Of course not, whelp. You humans are always so sensitive." He snorted, but Danny smiled to himself, knowing Skulker would always deny that he thought of Danny as a friend.

Danny hurriedly got dressed, pulling on a pair of slightly loose jeans and a Spider-Man shirt before he yanked on a plain hooded sweatshirt. Once he was dressed, he slung his bag across his chest and left the bedroom. "Ugh," he groaned as he remembered something. "I didn't finish all of my homework." He sighed, pushing up his glasses as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have time later to finish it up," Valerie said, presenting him with a plate of scrambled eggs when he entered the kitchen area of the apartment. "I'm pretty sure Vlad will go easy on you for your first day of being Phantom."

Danny breathed in the smell of freshly cooked eggs and sighed happily. "Real food!" He nearly drooled over that fact. "Do you know how long I've eaten mostly ramen noodles or some other cheap, quick to cook meal?"

"I so do not envy the life of a college student." Valerie grinned as she sat down at the table with her own plate of eggs.

Danny joined her, happy to have breakfast with a living person that didn't think he was a worthless waste of space. Eating in the cafeteria on campus wasn't all that bad since he had his privacy in his little corner to do some work, but it was lonely not sharing the meal with someone else. He shoveled a mouthful of the eggs into his mouth, and even just for simple scrambled eggs, they were very tasty.

"Where do you get your weaponry?" Skulker asked curiously as he sat on the pepper shaker in the middle of the table.

"Vlad has contacts." Valerie shrugged then took a sip of her milk. "They're ecto based for any ghostly threats. But they work well enough of living threats too. There's a stun setting, which is useful for not killing a human target."

Skulker frowned, and his red eyes narrowed as he sized up the woman. "You're not going to tell me his contact, are you?"

"How do I know you won't seek out the source and acquire some of the weapons for your own use?" Valerie countered.

For a while, they stared at each other, and Danny glanced back and forth between them, feeling a tension in the air. Then Skulker broke off from the contest and nodded his head. "You are quite right there," he agreed. "I'm sure I could find ways to add your weapons to my suit."

"You have a suit?" It was Valerie's turn to be curious.

"You didn't think he became the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter looking like that, did you?" Danny joked with a teasing grin. "Ouch!" He yanked back his hand, waving it out to the side after Skulker fired a small energy ball that struck him. Skulker might be small, but he could still strike painfully when he tried.

"You two sure get along well." Valerie snickered at their interactions. "Do you plan on following Danny around everywhere?"

"Someone has to look out for him." Skulker folded his arms and held his head high. "He'll just get himself into trouble if he doesn't have someone watching his back."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there," Danny muttered then finished off the last bite of his breakfast. He picked up his and Valerie's plates and carried them over to the sink to wash them.

"A man who does the dishes? I could get used to that." Valerie grinned, leaning on her arm as she watched him.

"My mom would probably be very disappointed with me if I never did the dishes." Danny dried his hands off on a towel before turning around to face her. "I had a lot of chores growing up. I didn't always do them right away." He shrugged. "But living with my old roommate, if I didn't clean a dish every once and a while, I'd be eating off plates and from bowls with I don't even want to know what stuck to them. Spike wasn't exactly the dishes washing type."

Valerie snorted as she stood. "I have to question your tastes if you had a roommate named Spike." She led the way toward the door of the apartment, and Skulker floated over to sit on Danny's shoulder as he followed after the woman. "Is that his real name? Please tell me it's a nickname."

"I have no idea." Danny shook his head. "And I didn't have much of a choice for roommates. He was the only person to agree to let me be their roommate, and I don't make enough money to get my own place. We are definitely not friends though."

"I'm sure I could find some way to get back at him without it violating the school rules about ghosts on campus," Skulker said in a ponderous tone, already trying to think up ways around the rules.

"Getting the chance to stay here must be like a dream come true for you then."

Danny nodded. "I guess you could say that. The choice of roommates is definitely a vast improvement." He grinned when Valerie stopped at the door to turn back to him. She stared at him, tilting her head with a considering look in her green eyes. Then she shook her head.

"This won't work," Valerie announced bluntly, and Danny winced. "We should try to keep people from making any connection between you and Phantom. If we're seen together like this, people might start connecting the dots." She walked over to where a vase sat on one of the tables and picked it up. Tipping it over, she spilled some of the water into her hand. Then she returned to Danny and ran her fingers through his raven locks, slicking back his messy bangs. "Just one more thing." She disappeared for a moment.

"Hm, nope," Skulker said, shaking his head. "I don't think I could get used to you having your hair like that."

"Gee, thanks." Danny rolled his eyes then stared in the direction in which Valerie disappeared. In another moment, she returned with a pair of sunglasses.

"Until you get those contacts, you should wear these to hide your eyes," Valerie explained as she pulled off Danny's glasses to replace them with the sunglasses.

"You know I have terrible eyesight," Danny reminded with a frown. Now, not only was everything blurry, but the world was dark too. He would be lucky if he didn't walk right into any walls like this.

"Don't worry." Valerie tugged the hood of sweatshirt up over his head, hiding his raven locks. "I'll make sure you don't run into anything." She opened the door to the apartment and, placing a hand on his shoulder, guided him through the doorway with no problem.

Danny nodded to himself. He could do this with Valerie, and Skulker, helping him. The ghost had slipped into his hood to keep out of sight as they left the apartment so that he wouldn't be seen by anyone. When they exited the hotel, a car was waiting for them. Valerie walked ahead and opened the door for him. She slid in after him, and once the door was closed, she returned his glasses.

"See? You didn't run into any walls." Valerie smiled as Danny slipped his glasses back on and the world became clear and crisp again to him.

"Thanks." Danny's mouth pursed as he turned a thought in his head. "Some of the jocks at school probably would have taken the opportunity to make sure I _did_ run into walls. They would have thought it was amusing."

"Sounds like they could use a little humiliation of their own," Valerie said, cracking the knuckles on one hand.

"I'm with her on this one," Skulker said, coming out of his hiding spot to sit on the lowered armrest between them.

When they reached the offices of Spook Records, they swapped glasses again. Valerie climbed out of the car first and held it open while Danny got out. Some people on the street stopped to stare at them, perhaps recognizing Valerie and therefore placing Danny as Phantom. They hurried into the building before anyone could think to approach them. Then they rode the elevator up to the floor with Mr. Masters' office, and Danny was given his glasses back again.

"That's going to be rather annoying," Danny admitted, frowning as they stepped out of the elevator.

"You could just wear the contacts all the time," Valerie suggested and led the way toward Mr. Masters' office.

"Except that my eyes are blue, and people I know would get suspicious if I started walking around with green eyes." Danny adjusted his glasses. "Besides, I like my glasses."

"And with a minute to spare," Desiree said, looking up from her desk with a wry smirk when they approached. "He's waiting on you with the makeup crew."

Valerie nodded then pushed open the door for him. Danny didn't think he could get used to having someone opening doors for him all the time. When they entered the office, Mr. Masters was standing behind his desk, leaning forward with his hands on the surface of his desk. Anger and frustration twisted upon his face as he glared at the woman sitting in the chair before him. Danny recognized those bright blue locks at once. Ember McLain was a very popular singer, and when her big hit "Remember" first came out, he could hardly go anywhere without being bombarded by people dressing like her or wearing her merchandise.

"If I knew anything, I'd tell you," Ember said as she stood. "But I haven't a clue."

"Who's the babe?" Skulker whispered into Danny's ear as he drew back the hood of his sweatshirt.

"Seriously, Skulker?" Danny stared flatly at him. "You've never heard of Ember McLain? Don't you ever get out and put the whole hunter thing to rest for a moment?"

"And you call me babe again, and I'll blast you into the other side," Ember threatened, glowering at Skulker.

"So going out on a limb, but you're a ghost?" Danny questioned as he pointed at Ember. "Though you can't really blame him for calling you a babe. You are beautiful, after all."

"Yes, I'm a ghost." Ember huffed, crossing her arms as her mouth thinned. At the compliment though, she blushed then immediately tried to recover her cool. Her style hadn't really changed that much over the years. She still dressed in black clothing with those skull boots. Stepping up close to Danny, she squinted her green eyes then twisted around toward Mr. Masters. "What did you do? Clone him?"

Mr. Masters sighed tired as he dropped back into his seat and rubbed at his forehead. "No, Ember, I didn't clone him. And if I had, I would have made sure he had the same hair and eye color as Phantom."

"Well, it seems you have a lot of work ahead of you," Ember said, brushing by Danny to the door of the office. "And I should probably head to the studio. That new album won't record itself after all." Danny bit his lip to keep from smirking when he noticed Skulker watching Ember exit the office.

"Sometimes, I wonder why I ever signed her in the first place," Mr. Masters mumbled, shaking his head. "And who is this friend you've brought along with you?" He didn't look all that pleased to see Skulker.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about him," Danny said quickly. "Skulker isn't going to spill the beans about any of this. Just think of him as a second bodyguard."

Mr. Masters narrowed his dark blue eyes at the ghost. "If he can indeed keep his silence, I'll tolerate his presence. Now," he stood and snapped a finger, drawing the attention of the makeup women who were waiting to transform Danny into Phantom, "it's time to get you ready for your first appearance."

Danny sighed, remembering how this went yesterday, but he allowed them to drag him away without complaint. Maybe this time, he would get to see how he looked dressed up like Phantom.

* * *

**sohrem666**: Thanks! Haha, hm~ Where could Phantom be?

**MsFrizzle**: Vlad is very regretful of failing to tell Valerie. Well, Valerie at least didn't rough Danny up too much.

**Rii**: Valerie would be a great bodyguard. 8D Poor Valerie though. She still feels guilty over the fact that Phantom was able to slip out without her notice. D:

**midnight**: I foresee Danny wanting to pass out a lot in the future. orz Haha, Skulker does! XD

**NikaStarlight**: And soon his first appearance! O: That would be quite the scene for Phantom to come home to. XD;;

**Inisfree**: *bows* Why thank you! I always like being able to surprise my readers from time to time. 8D I am thinking about doing side stories about things that are happening in the story not from Danny's point of view. XD;; So there will probably be some Phantom in there.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

No amount of rehearsal could have prepared him for this. Danny tried to be subtle in wiping sweaty palms on his pants, which were tight and made of leather, as he sat in a cushy white chair across from the interviewer. After the makeup crew finished up their work in turning him into Phantom, Danny got a brief glance of himself in a mirror. With the white wig styled in a faux hawk and the green contacts, which still irritated him but were at least the right prescription, he had to, reluctantly, admit that he could see the resemblance between him and Phantom. They did look quite a bit alike, even sharing basically the same height and build. It actually made Danny wonder how no one else saw the similarities before, but even he was oblivious to them until now. He still felt weird dressing up like Phantom, not used to the overly tight clothing.

Their first stop once he looked properly like Phantom was to a photographer's studio to take pictures for a photo spread in a magazine, that Mr. Masters apparently pushed back for the past two weeks. The photographer, a short balding man with glasses that Danny suspected were more for decoration than to correct his eyesight, greeted them with a friendly smile, but when he thought no one was paying attention, he grumbled about stupid, temperamental superstars who couldn't even bother to make it to appearances that were scheduled a month in advanced.

"Want me to give him a good kick to the head?" Skulker asked after overhearing the photographer's commentary. "We're not on campus. I can get away with doing whatever I like without those school rules getting in the way."

"I don't think that would be a wise idea," Danny answered.

"He says that," Valerie said, checking on Danny's outfit, "but Phantom's always been pretty obedient. I dare say it's actually about time he rebelled a bit."

"Even if he knew it meant making you look bad by escaping on your watch?" Danny lifted his eyebrows curiously.

"If he hadn't done it then, he wouldn't have been able to do it at all." Valerie shrugged then patted him on the shoulder as she pushed him to take his spot in front of the camera.

They had fitted Danny with a small earwig that was virtually invisible prior to arriving at the photographer's studio. Valerie and Mr. Masters would whisper him directions during the shoot if Danny wasn't certain about what the photographer wanted him to do. Danny wasn't very comfortable standing in front of the camera and having his picture taken, but he tried to do what he did with the radio show and act like he was someone else. He was Phantom, a rock star who wasn't fearful of things like cameras and being interviewed in front of a large audience.

The photo shoot went well, but now Danny was facing an even bigger challenge. He was finding it a bit more difficult to stay in character as Phantom when his gaze would slip to the side and take in the audience watching his every move and waiting to hear his every word. How did Phantom deal with this? Danny thought he could understand wanting to escape the public eye for a while if he had to suffer this kind of pressure every day.

"It's good to see you again, Phantom," the interviewer said with a smile on her face as she brushed back a lock of blonde hair. She was rather good looking for a woman of close to fifty, who most likely had a bit of plastic surgery done over the years.

"That's Vivian Landers," Valerie whispered through the earwig.

"I know," Danny murmured back as he threw a glance toward the offstage area where Valerie stood. Mr. Masters was busy chatting on his cell phone at the moment while Desiree stood beside him. "I have watched her show once or twice."

"Really?" Valerie said with some amusement in her voice. "You're not exactly her target audience."

Danny resisted the urge to glare at her and turned his attention back to the interviewer. "It's my pleasure to be here, Vivian."

"Kiss her hand," Valerie said hurriedly.

"What?" Danny snapped, remembering to keep his voice low.

"Phantom always kisses the hand of female interviewers when he greets them," Valerie explained.

Danny held back a sigh as he took the woman's hand and brought it up to his lips. Vivian flushed darkly as she waved her papers like a fan, the light breeze tossing some of her blonde hair.

"My, my, Phantom," Vivian said breathlessly. "You're going to make me the envy of everyone in the audience if you do things like that."

"Well, I can hardly resist giving a lovely lady a kiss." Danny smiled, turning it onto the audience, which earned him some squeals and sighs from the women.

"Careful, or you might be forced to kiss everyone in the audience," Vivian said.

"You certainly wouldn't want that," Valerie said with a snicker. "I think there's a guy or five in the audience." Danny tried to ignore that comment as he focused on what Vivian was saying next.

"It's been quite a while since you made your last public appearance," Vivian said, reaching out to lay a hand on his hand as she frowned with concern. "Is everything okay with you? A lot of us were starting to worry that something serious had happened with you."

"Vlad," Valerie whispered urgently, distracting the man from his phone call, "do we have an answer for that?"

Danny almost shook his head but caught himself. Mr. Masters hadn't even thought of a response for why Phantom had disappeared from the spotlight recently? "My doctor said I needed to rest my vocal cords," he told Vivian as he reached up to rub his throat with a hand. "He said recently I was putting too much strain on them from doing so many appearances. So I took a small break from making any public appearances until my doctor said that I was in the clear to sing again."

"Oh dear!" Vivian put a hand to her mouth, looking shocked by his announcement.

"Hm, the boy can think on his feet," Mr. Masters said through the earwig, sounding rather impressed by Danny's quick thinking. "Make a note of that," he said, most likely to Desiree, "in case he stumbles over the answer in the next interview." Danny almost growled in annoyance that Mr. Masters didn't think he could remember that simple explanation.

"I can see why you decided to disappear from the public for a while," Vivian continued. "It probably wouldn't have helped your recovery to be harassed by the media."

"I certainly wouldn't have minded allowing you to interview me." Danny wore a charming smile that managed to get swoons from the audience again. "But my manager and I thought it best to keep me isolated from the public eye until we got the okay from my doctor."

"Of course." Vivian nodded with a rare serious expression upon her face. "You have an amazing talent, and I'm sure your manager wants to do everything to assure that you're in your top form before allowing you on stage again." Curiosity entered her brown eyes as she leaned closer to him. "But you surely had a few visitors during your resting time. Perhaps a special someone?" Her eyebrows lifted upward, and the whole audience seemed to hold their breath in wait for his answer.

"We shouldn't need to tell you how to answer this question, right?" Valerie asked with a touch of amusement in her voice.

"Val," Danny grumbled. He did, of course, know that as a rock star Phantom had to appear unattached to the public. Not only did it keep him available in the eyes of his female fans, but it would help to keep his personal life private.

"I'm sorry. I don't think the audience could hear that," Vivian said, and Danny jerked his head toward her with a sense of dread.

"Danny!" Valerie groaned.

"Did you just say someone's name?"

Danny felt like he was sweating bullets as he sat there under everyone's gaze. "Vlad!" he said with maybe a little too much force. "Vlad Masters, my manager. He made a point to visit me often to see how I was doing."

"Ah, I see," Vivian said, sounding rather disappointed. It seemed everyone wanted a look into a celebrity's personal life. Danny certainly didn't envy that part of Phantom's life. "I could have sworn for a moment you said another name. Well, anyway," she moved along, deciding to overlook that small slipup with a pleasant smile, "since it sounds like you're well and healthy again, do you think you might give the audience a little performance? After being out of the spotlight for so long, I'm sure everyone's just waiting to hear you sing again." She looked to the audience, which immediately erupted in cheers and demands for him to perform for them. That was definitely another thing that didn't make Danny jealous of Phantom.

"Sure," Danny replied, seeing no way around it. If he refused, it would disappoint the audience, and they would start to wonder if his vocal cords were really okay again.

"We didn't prepare for that," Desiree said, coming through the earwig with a hint of worry in her voice. "We don't have a vocal track prepared for him to sing."

"We didn't teach him the steps to any of the dances either," Valerie reminded, not sounding very pleased.

Danny glanced their way and tried not to glare dryly at their comments. "Any song in particular you want me to sing?" he asked Vivian, playing the charming rock star again.

"Oh!" Vivian looked a little flustered as she shuffled through her papers, perhaps not expecting him to agree or ask her to pick the song. "How about your recent hit? 'Time out?'"

"As you wish." Danny bowed his head to her.

"W-Well," Vivian said, flushing again, "then why don't you prepare? And we'll go to a quick commercial break." She smiled into the camera until the light turned off to show they were no longer being filmed. "I didn't think you'd actually agree to sing." She glanced at Danny as she smoothed out her red skirt. "When Mr. Masters agreed to the appearance, he said it would only be an interview. No actual performance."

"Ah, well," Danny said, now feeling a little awkward. Had he made the wrong decision in agreeing to the performance? "I couldn't let my fans down."

Vivian nodded. "Good answer. You better go get ready for your performance then." She pointed toward the big open space on the stage where the crew were already setting up for him to sing.

Danny swallowed as he stood and walked over to the performance section of the stage. He tried to keep up the act of being calm and cool like Phantom would act, but his nerves were starting to get the better of him. What if he messed up this performance? What if everyone realized he wasn't Phantom? He didn't want to blow this whole thing for Mr. Masters or ruin Phantom's reputation. When Valerie approached him on stage, Danny felt a hundred times more nervous. She did _not_ look pleased with him.

"Why," Valerie growled lowly when she stood in front of him, "did you say my name out loud? Are you an idiot?" She dabbed a swab into some makeup stuff that Danny really didn't know what to call it then patted it onto his face.

Danny realized it then that she was acting as a makeup woman to keep the audience from realizing her true identity as his bodyguard so that they could speak privately. "Sorry," Danny mumbled. "It slipped out. I'm not used to having someone talking in my ear."

"You better get used to it," Skulker said with little arms folded as he perched on Valerie's shoulder, near her neck where he could be hidden by the bushy, curly mess of her hair at the base of her skull.

"I guess I should be happy I don't have him chatting in my ear too," Danny said with a dry glare at the ghost.

"You can't let that happen again. I especially don't want people getting it in their heads that I'm involved with Phantom." Valerie's green eyes narrowed at him.

"Have you ever wanted to be in a relationship with Phantom?" Danny asked, his curiosity slipping out before he could stop it.

Valerie stared at him for a moment, stunned by the question. "We have a professional relationship. Mostly. I think we're sort of friends too. But no, in the romantic sense, it's never come up between us."

"Oh." Danny wasn't sure what else to say to that response.

"We didn't prepare for you to actually sing for the audience, so we don't have anything ready," Valerie explained, concern entering her voice as she frowned at him.

"Yeah, I heard that part." Danny tapped his ear as a tiny smirk twisted upon his lips. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He hoped, at least.

"Give the whelp a chance. He might surprise you." Skulker smirked secretively, and Danny felt the color drain from his face at that expression.

"I sure hope you can sing, or this is going to blow up in our faces spectacularly." Valerie gave him one last pat on the nose with the powdery substance then headed off stage.

Vivian came to stand beside him, checking that her hair was as perfect as always. "Was that the mystery girl you let slip earlier?" She tossed him a glance with a smirk.

"She was only a makeup girl," Danny answered, trying not to be too eager to reject the idea.

Vivian nodded but didn't look convinced. She turned her attention to the camera man as he counted down, using his fingers. He pointed at them when he hit one, and the light on the camera switched on. "Welcome back," Vivian said, smiling warmly into the camera. "Our guest today, Phantom, has agreed to perform his new hit 'Time out' for us. So here he is." She clapped her hands as she left the stage to him, and the audience followed suit, filling the studio with loud applause, which didn't help with Danny's nerves.

The sound crew waited until the audience fell silent then turned on the music for the song. Danny gulped as he glanced around at the crowd, squeezing the microphone in his hand. He heard this song at least a hundred times now after playing it on his radio program and hearing it all over campus. When he heard the right point, he opened his mouth and suffered a terrifying moment that he would lose his voice.

"Just another night," Danny sang, the tightness in his chest loosening as the words spilled easily from his lips. "Thinking I'm all alone."

"Wow," Desiree breathed out in wonder, listening to Danny sing. "I can't believe he sounds exactly like Phantom."

"It was his singing that caught my attention in the first place," Mr. Masters informed her with smugness in his voice, and Danny tried not to flush at the realization that he had sung out loud on a busy street. "The fact that he looked exactly like Phantom too was just icing on the cake."

Danny blocked out their offstage conversation before it distracted him from the song. Relief filled him to know that no one suspected he wasn't the real Phantom. He was glad now, too, that he not only had most of Phantom's songs memorized but also the dances that went with the songs. He hated to say he was a fan boy, like Dash, but he had followed Phantom career from the beginning. At least now, looking like an obsessive fan boy was paying off for him.

* * *

**sohrem666**: They're sitting their in an eternal battle of playing chess! XD;; Hm, maybe~ 8)

**Dr. Strawberries**: Such an adorable little blob creature~ XD;; Hm, I'm not sure how he'll react just yet. Another chapter and still no real Phantom. D: Danny needs to have a few appearances as Phantom. XD;; Danny is adorable in glasses. 8) I always like the idea of Danny wearing glasses. I've had him wear glasses before, but that was more for reading. Nope, Val and Phantom are just friends. I suppose there is that possibility, though I hadn't given much thought to Plamius' existence yet.

**MsFrizzle**: Thanks! =) I'm glad you're enjoying the alternate universe and the interactions.

**Rii**: XD They have a weird friendship, and yet it somehow works. So many possible pairings available in the show! XD;;

**Guest**: I hadn't even thought about it coming off like that. O:

**midnight**: XD Well, Danny should probably feel lucky that it's just a bit foundation to cover any blemishes. It's not like he's being forced to put on lipstick and eye shadow and mascara and stuff.

**NikaStarlight**: Well, a few little hiccups. Danny, why did you let Val's name slip out? orz But it seems he did okay.

**noname**: I'm glad you think the story is good. I've never heard of Radio Rebel. What do you want me to "tone down?"

**Inisfree**: I should probably get on with writing Phantom's side then. XD;; Valerie is certainly not a woman to cross. XD And she probably wouldn't appreciate seeing them harassing Danny. Skulker and Ember have really grown on me as a couple after writing them a few times. XD;; Canon wise, they still seem like the writers just threw them together for that one episode. Danny didn't fall flat on his face during the performance! He considers that a good thing. XD;;


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

A slice of toast hung from his mouth as he quickly added up the final pictures to the website and opened the voting for people to pick which one they liked best. Mr. Lancer's warning apparently didn't get to be unnecessary worry, though Danny kind of wished it was. He received one set of pictures that came in from an unknown e-mail address late last night, that Tucker was tracking back to the source so that they knew who was to blame for them. The pictures were clearly photo manipulated, and rather poorly, which only led them to believe that whoever did it wasn't very skilled with the program. The pictures were meant to show Dash off in the buff but the work was sloppy. The body type was clearly wrong, not nearly as muscular or broad shouldered as Dash, and the skin tone from the pictures of Dash's head and the body used in the pictures were greatly different.

Danny was pissed when he saw the pictures. Not that he had any reason to defend the jock, or even like him all that much, but he wasn't jerk enough to stoop low enough to purposely do something to embarrass Dash. Being that Dash was the star of their university's football team, therefore a big name in town, Danny thought the contest would draw a lot of interest from everyone. Until last night, he thought people were having fun taking pictures of and sometimes with Dash to enter. It didn't seem like anyone was going to be a jerk and try to enter something offensive like fake nude pictures of the jock.

"If you keep glaring like that, your face might stick that way," Valerie warned before she shoveled a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"I can attest to that," Skulker said with a sage nod. "I knew of a ghost once that had his face twisted up for so long while waiting to scare a human that it ended up getting stuck that way. He hasn't been able to change his face in twenty years."

Danny blinked at the blob of a ghost. As ridiculous as it sounded, Skulker stated it in such a serious tone that Danny was inclined to believe it. Danny pulled the toast from his mouth with a sigh. "Sorry. I guess I'm still kind of frustrated that someone thought they could get away with submitting those pictures."

"A man of many talents," Valerie said, staring at Danny.

After the interview with Vivian, Valerie tagged along with him back to campus when it was time for him to put on his midnight to two AM radio show. Valerie remained outside the studio to avoid Sam and Tucker questioning how Danny knew her or why she was there. At first, Danny felt hesitant about her knowing that he was the Badger, but since they already had another identity of his to keep secret, he decided Valerie could be trusted.

"You can sing and dance just as well as Phantom. You're a famous, though highly secretive, radio show host. Any other secret identities I should know about?"

"Nope." Danny shook his head, but a small smirk of amusement slipped onto his face. "I think that's all."

"Well, I'm glad you have integrity. I'm sure there are other people out there that would have been more than happy to post poorly edited nude pictures of someone they hate on the internet for all the world to see." Valerie stood up and carried her plate over to the sink to clean.

"What worries me is that this person doesn't have to rely on my contest to humiliate Dash." Danny closed up his laptop then stuffed it into his bag. "If they have the knowhow, they could set up a website and post the pictures up there." That was the reason he was having Tucker track the pictures back to their source so that they could identify the one that sent them and inform someone with authority of the harassment, assuming anything could be done about it. As much as he wanted to immediately delete the photographs, he kept the e-mail as evidence.

"You are, perhaps, far nobler than I," Skulker said with a certain amount of respect in his voice as Danny hurried to finish his breakfast then joined Valerie at the sink to clean his dishes. "If it were someone I detested, I would not hold back."

"Dash can be a jerk, and he certainly never treated me all that well, but I still believe there are lines that don't need to be crossed." Danny shrugged as he grabbed his bag and slung it across his chest. "Dash never stooped _that_ low in the way he treated me. I see no reason to be the one to cross that line. If I wanted to get back at Dash, I wouldn't go for _that_ kind of public humiliation." He also had Lancer's warning hanging over his head. He didn't want his teacher disappointed in him for making a dumb decision.

"Such a charmer, aren't you?" Valerie followed Danny to the door of the apartment. She dressed casually today in jeans and a long sleeved white shirt over which she wore a zip up yellow fleece vest. "How do you not have the ladies eating out of the palm of your hand?"

"The world's a great mystery." Danny shrugged. He paused when Valerie joined him out in the hall. "You're going to follow me around everywhere?" He frowned, not entirely sure he liked this arrangement. Hanging out with Valerie was fun. He enjoyed talking with her. But having her around at every turn might become overbearing rather quickly.

"It sort of comes with the job." Valerie led the way down the hall to the elevator, and Skulker followed suit. "You're my responsibility for as long as you fill the role, so it's my job to keep an eye on you and make sure nothing happens to you." She hit the down button then turned around to face Danny. "Plus Vlad will contact me with any appearances that you're needed for, so I'll need to be around you to give you the heads up if we need to leave to prepare for that." The elevator doors opened, and their group of three entered. "But don't worry. I won't go into your classes, and I'll stay back when you hang out with friends."

Danny shook his head as he leaned back against the elevator wall. "We'll need a story."

"What?" Valerie blinked at him.

"An explanation for why you're hanging around me," Danny explained as he stared at the numbers over the elevator doors. "People are going to wonder if a beautiful woman starts hanging around me all the time. Who isn't my best friend Sam. So we need some way to explain your presence. I can't say you're an old friend because my friends will know that's a lie and we should stick to the same story for everyone just to make sure things don't get mixed up or if people start talking to one another and find that there's more than one story going around."

Valerie nodded. "Of course. Secrets are no foreign thing to you."

Danny glanced at her and caught the smirk tugging at one corner of her mouth. "I guess that kind of makes it easier for me to play the role of Phantom. Since I'm already so good at hiding my identity as the Badger." The elevator jerked to a stop, and they stepped out as soon as the doors slid open.

"Got any far removed relatives that people wouldn't really know all that much about?"

Danny considered her question as they walked through the lobby of the hotel. "I have an aunt in Spittoon, Arkansas. I've never really talked much about her with anyone. I only really met her once when we went down to celebrate her tenth anniversary after her divorce."

"Great! I can be her step daughter in her second marriage. That would make us cousins-in-law," Valerie explained, working quickly to think of all the details. "I'm considering college options, and my parents decided to send me out here to visit with my cousin," she grinned, hugging an arm around Danny's shoulders, "and see how I like the place you go to. That sounds pretty plausible, right?"

"But we're the same age," Danny pointed out after mulling over the story. "Wouldn't it be a bit late for you to be considering college options?"

Valerie paused but bounced back quickly. "Not if I took some time off from school after high school to do some world traveling. Now I'm back and ready to continue with my education."

Danny nodded, deciding that could be believed. People did take some time away from pursuing their education after high school. In this case, Valerie would have taken quite the extended vacation, but it could still work for a story. "What about your name? Would anyone be suspicious if you use Valerie Gray?"

"I think we'll be safe. I'm not exactly supposed to be seen on camera and well known for my job."

Danny nodded, happy to have a story worked out prior to reaching the university. He didn't want to get that deer in the headlights look the first moment someone asked about Valerie, which usually was a dead giveaway that he was about to lie. He glanced toward Valerie as they walked toward the entrance gate to the university. Skulker was describing, in detail, one of his more spectacular hunts in which he managed to fell the three headed ghost leopard, whose pelt now adorned the floor of his lair. Danny smiled a little as Valerie nodded along and asked questions that only spurred Skulker to go into more detail. He was glad his two "protectors" got along so well.

When they passed through the gate onto campus grounds, Danny had a sudden fear of people swooping down upon him with demands of whom Valerie was. He nearly laughed out loud when he realized how completely silly that sounded. The only ones that would really care were Sam and Tucker. Perhaps Lancer, if only because the man liked to keep the lines of communication open with his students. Only people with early classes like Danny were wandering around at the moment, and many of them seemed to still be in a half asleep stupor as they headed for class or to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast. Danny led the way toward the building that housed his first class of the day.

"Phantom's been famous for a couple of years now," Danny mumbled, thinking out loud as he turned his blue eyes onto Valerie. "If you've been his bodyguard the whole time, have you never wanted to go to college?"

Valerie shrugged. "I guess college isn't for everyone. But it's not like I don't have an interest in learning new things," she added quickly as if she was afraid he would judge her negatively for that fact. "I read and study up on things when I'm not on the job. Having Phantom missing for a while gave me the chance to sit back and catch up on a few things. Not that I'm saying I'm glad that he gave me the slip. Just, you know-"

"Thinking of the positives?" Danny smirked, and with a smile, Valerie nodded. "So is being a bodyguard all you want to do with your life? You don't have any other dream careers that you might want to pursue later in life?"

"Awfully curious, aren't you?" Valerie eyed him briefly then took a moment to consider the question. "For now, it's a pretty good gig. I get to live in a great apartment that my boss basically pays for. I get to travel around the world whenever Phantom tours. There haven't exactly been people showing up to try to kill or kidnap him, so the job's been a little laid back. Mostly I just watch his back wherever he goes, but I don't use that as an excuse to get lazy. I keep up with my training."

Danny remembered how they first met and definitely had to agree Valerie was no slouch when it came to fighting. "But it doesn't sound like the job gives you a lot of room for other things. You know, like friends or," he shrugged, "dating."

Valerie's mouth pursed to one side in thought. "Well, we're still pretty young. I'm not going to get too hung up on the whole dating thing. Friends," her green eyes glanced away, "would be nice. I've got Phantom and everyone at Spook Records. But I guess sometimes it would be nice to hang out with people off the clock. You know?"

Danny nodded. Doing the radio show with friends was great, but Danny liked the times when he could kick back with his friends and just hang out without having to think about the job.

"Speaking of dating," Skulker spoke up, reminding the pair that he had tagged along. Danny had, admittedly, forgotten he was there during his silence. "Is that Ember seeing anyone?"

Danny stared, and he could have sworn there was a faint blush upon the ghost's cheeks. Biting down on his lower lip, he tried not to laugh at Skulker's question. It simply seemed unbelievable to him after all this time that Skulker was interested in someone, romantically, but Danny guessed even ghosts were prone to the same emotions as humans, such as love. It was something discussed at length in his classes on paranormal studies. Even after speaking directly with ghosts, some of the "experts" still didn't believe ghosts were capable of feeling anything remotely human. These same "experts" also tended to align with the ideas of the anti-ghost groups that wanted to rid their world of all ghosts.

"Well, Ember hasn't mentioned being interested in anyone recently," Valerie answered, trying to hold back a smile. "But I could try to slip in a good word for you, though I do suggest watching what you say next time. I don't think she appreciated you calling her babe."

"Hey!"

Danny halted outside the door to the building with his first class as a sense of dread washed over him. He turned and cringed when he saw the angry man storming over to them. After moving out, he thought his troubles with Spike would be over, but of course he wouldn't be so lucky. He didn't need to throw a glance at Skulker to know the ghost would glaring, practically growling as he snarled at the spiked haired, tattooed man approaching them. That was about all Skulker was able to do because if he did what he _wanted_ to do, he would be tossed off campus and banned from over coming back.

"What do you want?" Danny asked tiredly, wanting to get to class before he ended up being late.

Spike seized the front of Danny's hooded sweatshirt, yanking him forward a step. "What's the big idea just up and leaving in the middle of the night like that?" He narrowed his eyes, drawing back his upper lip in a snarl that made him even less attractive than usual.

"Well, you see, my cousin here," Danny gestured with one hand toward Valerie, "just arrived in town to visit me. Since my new uncle-in-law has so graciously decided to rent an apartment for us, I decided I no longer needed to live with _you_." Danny smiled as innocently as he could. "Weren't you the one who suggested I move out if I was unhappy being woken up by your drumming at the crack of dawn?"

Spike glowered even darker as his hand twisted about the fabric of Danny's sweatshirt. "And who exactly is going to pay the rest of the rent?"

"Are you saying you're unable to find another roommate?" Danny managed to look stunned by the news. "Such a _great_ roommate as you? I'm sure with your _lovely_ personality, you'll have a long line of possible roommates at your door in no time. After all, _I'm_ the one no one wanted to be roommates with, right?" He was beginning to understand the situation a bit better now. Spike knew Danny was about the only one desperate enough to agree to be his roommate, just as Spike was about the only one that was willing to accept Danny living in his apartment. Danny resisted the urge to smirk widely. If he really wanted to ensure Danny would stay his roommate and pay the majority of the rent check, Spike should have treated him better.

Spike drew back his free hand, balling it into a fist. Before he could even start on the forward thrust of a punch, Valerie stepped in, sliding between the pair of them and seizing his arm. With a hard twist, she managed to wrench his hand free of Danny's sweatshirt. Then suddenly, Spike was laying on his back before them, and Valerie stood up straight, clapping her hands as if brushing away dust. Danny blinked wide eyes of surprise while Skulker landed upon his shoulder with a smirk about to crack his face in half.

"I'll ask that you not touch my cousin again," Valerie said icily with a glare at Spike. She turned Danny around, pushing him toward the door of the building. "Do you have a death wish?" she wondered, eying him once they were inside and walking down the hall. "You can't fight, but you'll provoke a bully into a fight?"

"That wasn't exactly my intent," Danny said, wincing.

"But I can't say that guy didn't deserve it. He seemed kind of like a jerk." Valerie cracked her knuckles like she wanted to go back and give Spike a few punches to make the message stick.

"He really was. But, um, thanks for stepping in like that." Danny rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly, knowing that if she hadn't done something, he probably would have stood there stupidly and let Spike punch him.

"It's my job to watch your back." Valerie grinned as she slapped a hand to his back.

"Hopefully, I won't make you work too hard at your job." Danny gave half a smile. "I wouldn't want to seem too pathetic in your eyes."

"Not everyone's a fighter. You shouldn't feel bad about that." They stopped at one of the doors within the building, the one to Danny's first class. "But," Valerie added with a sternness in her green eyes that reminded him of the looks Sam would sometimes give him, "maybe you should try not to provoke the bullies too much."

Danny held up one hand, placing the other over his heart. "I shall do my best to watch what comes out of my mouth from now on." He grinned when she rolled her eyes. "I'll see you after class." He gave a short wave then disappeared into the classroom.

* * *

**The Magnetic Witch**: Ah, if only something like that could happen in real life. 8D Sadly, my voice probably sounds like dying cats in an alley. D8

**NikaStarlight**: Poor Phantom! D: He probably won't be too happy that they found a replacement.

**Rii**: Danny probably could have gone into acting. XD But he's much more comfortable not being in front of a camera. That would be so sad if Phantom passed on though! D: I don't think Danny wants to take over the role of Phantom permanently. XD;;

**MsFrizzle**: Their voices are similar enough that most wouldn't notice the difference. Someone with a really good ear though probably would. XD;;;

**sohrem666**: XD I guess Phantom probably isn't the type to sit around playing chess. XD

**ShaksieGirlBenniBoy**: Thanks! =) I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

**midnight**: He's just glad he knows all the words and steps to the song! XD Otherwise that could have been really embarrassing. XD;;

**Inisfree**: Danny had them all in a panic! And Vlad's just like "this going to go perfectly." XD;; When is Vlad not a bit creepy? XD; Then again, if he's going to pull off this Phantom replacement, he needs to make sure Danny can fill the role completely.

**XD**: You're back! Omg! Hi~ 8D Welcome back! Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying them. 8) I should probably get a few more of those What Ifs written up sometimes. I've been distracted with more stories. That is a good point because yeah, Ember will still have her hypnotizing abilities, which Vlad doesn't approve of her using. Well, Danny didn't actually say he _didn't_ like her song *cough-washypnotizedintolikingit-cough* just that for a while, it was Ember everything everywhere. I don't think Dan would exist here. Plasmius could be a possibility though. Phantom will eventually make an appearance! Of that much, I can be certain. XD;;


End file.
